J. Cole sits down with Rhapsody while out in Austin for SXSW to discuss lyrical hip hop, game changing emcees and the struggle between artistic integrity vs. commercial viability.
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J. Cole – Q&A w/ Rhapsody (Video)
Hip Hop, Video
soon to be the GOAT
Classic album in the making. I CALL IT!!!!
His rappers-as-wrestler-personas idea was one of interesting ways of describing 90s rap i’ve heard in a while. that was cool.
great interview, cole
j.cole is the greatest. 1a. wale is 1b.
also, i think while kanye ain’t no goat lyrically or whatnot, he definitely made it possibly for this like, everyday guy type rap persona to be commercially viable. he was at least one of the first huge break out successes of it. a lot of people of rapped about being poor and then rich but when biggie did it he was like, i was poor then i sold dope and killed people, now i’m rich. em did it….but he was also rappin about killin his baby’s mama. weird. Kanye came out and was like I was really poor, worked hard at makin a lot of dope music, and now im rich. like, that’s what a lot of the music was about. i just think it’s cool that that one album – college dropout – had all the right ingredients to make the everyday man a viable persona in hip-hop.
fuck, i just got to the part in the interview where he said exactly what i just did.
LOL @ when they asked him abt Blu.
i was a little worried thinking he was gonna go to commercial on this album but after hearing him speak, i have no concerns now. def copping when he decides to drop it…
This is a dope nigga “No, I’m not doing a club song”
STAY REAL
Possible classic in the making, folks.
I co-sign him on mixing artistic integrity wit commercial appeal
This dude IS going to be great
Real talk, Drake is dope he got that rock-star Jay thing goin on. And “So far Gone” was a great mixtape. The retail success from it is crazy.
But….no one really talks about the Warm-up and how dope that mixtape was. I for one came across J.Cole before even knowing who the fuck Drake was. And by track 3 I was already thinking if it keeps on this path. It shouldn’t be considered a mixtape, it should be considered an album. I listened to that album non-stop, aleast once a day. I know my signature might not mean shit, but I was co-signing this nigga to everyone I knew or came in contact with.
But overall this knew group of hopeful hip-hop stars got a lot to prove. I wish these niggas nothin but the best. Because as a hip-hop, I would really like to be able to buy an actual album. Instead of downloading a few songs here there.
cosign “dolla and a dream”… The warm up was one of the best products put out last year…. mixtapes, albums, whatever… J. Cole has the chance to be mentioned with the Pacs, Biggies, Jays, etc… I know it’s early, he hasn’t even dropped an album… but he is a refreshing voice during an era of hip hop that is in dire need of a new leader…
J.Cole is that nigga
TO Me The NEw Niggas Dats Bringin Hiphop bacc is
Blu
J.Cole
Curren$y
Freddie Gibbs
Jay Elect
Big K.r.i.t
Jay rock
Honorable mention
Big sean
Nipsey Hussle
Wiz Khalifa
Vado
oh i forgot my nigga Fashawn!
If he has a record w/ Jim Jonsin, it’s most likely a club type record.
yo i gotta agree with all the dudes mentioning Blu. Blu is crazy, way bigger than just rap. Im surprised cole knew of him. In general cole really holds himself well in interviews. The thing is, like a previous dude said, i did the same, co-signed and showed all my friends the warm up. I think thats probably one of the largest factors that has lead to his somewhat backpacker/underground growth. He’s gonna blow up real big and im glad to see he seems to be sticking to his principles.
below the heavens was dope. took me a few listens to really feel butttt. glad i gave him a chance. blu is that dude
J. cole making all the right moves to blow. Dude comes off as a real mf who can identify with anyone. And Blu is lyrically one of the best right now. He is a original.
Hmmmm… he seems to have this “commercial in a good way” thing weighed up well. until he said Jim Jonsin that guy makes pure bubble gum pop tracks.