16 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About J. Cole
1. We all know J. Cole’s real name is Jermaine Lamarr Cole. But did you know he was born in Frankfurt, Germany?
2. J. Cole’s mom is German & his dad, who left a young Jermaine behind very early on in his life, is African-American.
3. The “extent” of his “prepared food” repertoire goes only so far as cereal and PB&Js.
4. J. Cole’s first rap name was Blaza. His second was Therapist.
5. He considered himself the underdog. He’s quoted as saying: “I’ve always been an underdog. I feel like I beat the odds.”
6. One time, when he was younger, J. Cole rocked a rattail ‘do long enough to wrap around his face… he paired it with a “Bobby Brown fade.”
7. J. Cole moved his “Born Sinner” release date up from June 25th to June 18th to, specifically, compete with Kanye West’s “Yeezus.”
8. J. Cole’s favorite New Yorker, dead or alive, is Tupac.
9. J. Cole stands tall at 6’3″ – he’s one inch taller than his mentor, Jay Z.
10. He was first-chair violinist back in high school.
11. It was J. Cole’s mom who encouraged his production, buying her son a $1,300 ASR-X for Christmas so he could make beats at home.
12. J. Cole has worked as a newspaper ad salesman and a bill collector, in addition to dressing as a kangaroo while working at a skating rink.
13. He first attempted to work with Jay Z after college. In 2007, Hov dismissed the young rapper and the beat tape he was trying to shop around.
14. That same night, J. Cole stood around and waited for Jay Z to arrive at the studio, for 3 hours, in the rain – only to get the cold shoulder from Hov.
15. Cole attended St. John’s University in Queens, NYC. He majored in Communication and minored in Business. He also graduated Magna Cum Laude.
16. Cole’s “2014 Forest Hill Drive” has officially dubbed him a platinum recording artist.
16 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About J. Cole was originally published on globalgrind.com
