Via Email:In an exclusive interview with DJBooth.net, J. Cole steps into the Booth to discuss taking the stage alongside his legendary label boss for the first time, the pros and cons of being a beatsmith as well as an emcee and his unorthodox approach to phone bills and student loan payments
DJ Booth: Obviously, as we both can agree, Jay is a legend in the game, but very
few of his protégés have ever lived up to the hype that preceded them. What
prompted you to sign with the Roc and, to this point, do you feel any pressure
to deliver results?
J. Cole: Yep, I took those things into account.
‘Cause Jay-Z’s shadow is so big, it would be hard for anybody to come out of
that. But I’m the type of person where, A., I look at things as challenges, I
like challenges and, B., I truly believe that you determine your own destiny. An
opportunity is an opportunity, and one of that magnitude would be dumb to pass
up, especially when I truly believe that I make my path and I set my course, and
where I land, at the end of the day, or the end of my career, [is] because of
me. Of course, you get help along the way, and cosigns and management and
opportunities and things like that but overall, the ball is in your court
basically. In terms of pressure, I used to say I didn’t feel any pressure ‘cause
I really wasn’t thinkin’ about it, but now that I’m thinkin’ about it, it’s like
a good pressure. I feel the type of pressure that a strong-minded first pick in
a draft would feel. ‘Cause I feel like a first pick in a draft could either be
like, “Damn, I’m the first pick! I don’t wanna mess up! I don’t wanna f*ck this
up, they invested a lot of money in me!” or he could be like, “Yeah, I’m the
first round pick, ‘cause I worked so hard to be the first round pick. Now I’m
gonna show you why I’m the first pick.”
DJ Booth: J., the list of well-known emcees to attend college and actually graduate is not very long. I polled all of my Twitter followers, all 9,800-plus of them, and we came up with Chuck D , Nappy Roots , David Banner , Kidz in the Hall, and a few others. Would you be in the position that you’re in right now without that degree from St. John’s?
J. Cole: Nah – that was my ticket. St. John’s was my way to be
in New York. I had no other business being up there. Like, I probably wouldn’t
have survived if it wasn’t for bein’ able to stay in dorms, and bein’ able to
use college loans to get my apartment, and just stay afloat in New York City.
But I believe that anything’s possible. I used to think I couldn’t have made it
back home, but now I know, knowin’ what I know about the world and how it works,
I know I could’ve stayed home and found a way to get on. But, you know, college
had a great deal to do with my development as a person. I don’t know if I’d be
the artist I was if it wasn’t for goin’ to school like that. School is a good
place – it ain’t for everybody, but I think it’s for most people.
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