J. Cole told the craziest story from 2011 that involved JAY Z and Drake. It goes way back to one pivotal moment at the NBA All-Star Weekend when JAY Z and LeBron James were having their historic Two Kings dinner; JAY Z came up with a crazy suggestion that would leave the room buzzing-and J. Cole fuming.
J. Cole was getting ready to drop his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. So he was under pressure for his single. After multiple tries with tracks such as “Blow Up” and “Higher,” none made the hit needed to solidify him as a mainstream artist. This set the scene for a memorable night that J. Cole and his manager, Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad, recounted in the episode.
The story goes that during one conversation between Cole, Drake, and a few others, JAY Z entered the room, surveyed the gathering, and dropped a bomb: “Yo, give the boy one.” Pointing at Cole, JAY Z virtually implored Drake to give his Roc Nation protégé a hit song. Meant as a friendly gesture of goodwill, the remark was awkward because of the competitive dynamic between Cole and Drake at the time.
Ib recalled a room in shock and disdain. He even said that Drake’s manager, Future (The Prince), looked shocked, adding that J. Cole was quite displeased. “I remember Cole sitting at the dinner table later, looking pissed,” Ib said. In that moment, the jab came as an attack on his creativity and independence – especially after already linking up with Drake on the track “In The Morning” just months prior.
That night, Cole decided to go straight to JAY Z and clear the air. The Fayetteville rapper confronted his mentor for what he felt was a case of hypocrisy. Cole said JAY Z’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt, didn’t have any Billboard-charting singles-it’s a classic. Why, then, was Cole being pressured to chase a hit?
While the encounter could’ve turned sour between them, it instead lit a fuse within J. Cole himself. Determined to prevail by his own standards, into the making of “Work Out”-a soon-to-be breakthrough single-Cole channeled his frustration. In its wake, the single became a turning point for Cole; this single propelled Cole World: The Sideline Story into commercial success and cemented his place within hip-hop.
Over the years, the relationship of J. Cole to JAY Z matured from mentor-protégé into one where both parties had respect for one another. When he burst onto the scene, Cole felt pressure living up to JAY Z’s high standards, but as he grew into his position as a leading artist, that bond would change. The Jay who has taken pride in cosigning new talent let Cole find himself without always looking over his shoulder.
