Jermaine Lamarr Cole born January 28, 1985, better known by his stage name J. Cole, is an American recording hip hop artist and producer. In 2009 he was the first artist signed to Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation. His debut album titled Cole World: The Sideline Story is set to be released on September 27, 2011.
J. Cole started rapping at the age of 14 when his cousin showed him the basics of rhyming and word play. Inspired by rappers such as Nas, Canibus and Eminem, Cole developed a love for telling stories in his lyrics. At age 15, J. Cole had notebooks filled with rhymes but no beats of his own to record them with. His mother bought him an 808 beat machine so he could produce music himself. By the age of 17, he was posting songs on various internet forums under the moniker "Therapist" J. Cole stood outside of Jay-Z’s place of business for three hours in order to give him a beat he sampled by Idris Muhammad, so that his mentor to be could use it. However, when Jay-Z came out of his building he shunned the up-and-coming rapper. Before J. Cole was signed to Roc Nation, he worked a job as a bill collector. One morning, he turned on his cell phone and noticed that he received a text from an associate asking him to call the associate back. When Cole returned the call, the associate informed Cole that he received a call from Jay-Z’s associates and that he had to meet with them as soon as possible. J. Cole decided not to stay at work and left to go back home to change and get ready for his meeting.
