J.Cole

Jermaine Lamarr Cole was born 28th January 1985. Professionally, he is known as J.Cole and is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He initially gained recognition in 2007, following the release of his debut mixtape; 'The Come Up'. Determined to further his solo career as a rapper, he went on to release two additional mixtapes after being signed by Jay-Z's record label: Roc Nation.

Personal Life

J.Cole was born in a US Army base in Frankfurt, West Germany. His father was African American and a former soldier for the United States Army. His mother is a white German woman, who was a postal worker for the US Postal Service. When Cole was young, his father abandoned his family. Leading his mum to move her family to Fayetteville in North Carolina and continue their life there. He grew up in a multi-ethnic environment. J.Cole has been asked how his ethnicity impacts him, due to the problems black people in America are currently facing, and he commented: "I can identify with white people, because I know my mother, her side of the family, who I love. But at the end of the day, I've never felt white. I can identify with white people but never have I felt like I'm one of them. I identify more with what I look like, because that's how I got treated but not necessarily in a negative way". He has always had an interest in music, he served as a first-chair violinist for the Terry Sanford Orchestra until 2003.

Career

When he was young, Cole and his cousin worked on developing their basic understanding of rhyming and wordplay further, as well beginning to pick up the skill of including storytelling within their lyrics. He produced a whole load of ideas, but unfortunately was unable to actually start producing beats any further than sampling. Then his mother bought him the equipment, allowing him to produce actual songs. He began by posting his creations onto online forums.  

After producing a whole selection of instrumentals, he went to Roc Nation in the hope to play his creations to Jay-Z. After originally being dismissed, determined to make it he released his first mixtape (The Come Up) on his own.  

From there J.Cole's success only got bigger. He followed 'The Come Up' with his second mixtape 'The Warm Up' in 2009. He then finally began to make his journey towards his dream, as he featured in a song from 'The Blueprint 3' By Jay-Z. The song was called 'A Star Is Born'. 

Since then, he has released 3 studio albums; 'Cole World:The Sideline Story'(2010), and 'Born Sinner'(2013) . After creating these albums, in 2013 J.Cole decided to give back to his fans. He has set up an annual tour; "Dollar and a Dream", whereby fans can pay nothing but a dollar and he will showcase his early music, the music before the fame that many fans may not of heard.

Being born with African Amercian background, like many other artists with a similar background, J.Cole decided that he felt passionate about race problems facing African Americans in the US and around the world. Like artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Beyonce, he used his power to speak about a matter that he feels strongly about. Whilst he was writing his most recent album '2014 Forest Hills Drive', after the Ferguson Riots, Cole felt he wanted to share his view on the matter. After a black teenager was shot dead by a white police officer, it sparked a large amount of controversy. Therefore he wrote, recorded and released a single dedicated to Michael Brown, the boy who was killed, called 'Be Free'.

He expresses his concern towards treatment of African Americans. He encourages the audience to think about things like why "every time I [He] steps outside I [He] sees my [his] people die" he also pushes the audience to join him and demands "don't just stand around", he wants them to raise the awareness of the situation. J.Cole took advantage of the power he holds with his music, and put strong words about a devastating event in order to make people realise how out of control and inhumane the situation is. It is also in one of the most memorable and touching ways possible, as people will find a connection and meaning with the lyrics making them memorable.

Following "Be Free",came the release of his latest Grammy nominated album "2014 Forest Hills Drive". "Be Free" was not on the album, therefore Cole had not released any build-up single or teaser. It was all about his journey and where it started. He wanted to revisit the place where everything began for him: his childhood home in Forest Hills Drive, Fayetteville, North Carolina. He created a clear narrative in each song:

• His desire for success - 'Fire Squad'
• His success beginning to grow - 'A Tale Of Two Citiez'
• Starts revealing his past and life stories - '03 Adolescence' and 'Wet Dreamz'
• Things begin to get a bit patchy and problems start occurring - 'G.O.M.D' and 'No Role Models'
• Then lastly explains how much everything means to him and the notion of love - 'Love Yourz' and 'Apparently' 

After reaching his lifetime goal, he wanted to help others get to theirs and decided to create his own record label 'Dreamville Records'. He aims to keep empathetic lyricism and true soul music at the core of all his work.

Awards

BET Hip-Hop Awards

• 2011 'Friday Night Lights' won best mixtape.
• 2014 'Crooked Smile' won biggest impact.
• 2015 he won best performer.
• 2015 ' 2014 Forest Hills Drive' won best album

Billboard Music Awards

• 2014 '2014 Forest Hills Drive' won top rap album.