J Cole Reveals How Listening To Drake For The First Time Changed His Career

BYGabriel Bras Nevares1400 Views
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2023 Dreamville Music Festival
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 02: J. Cole (L) and Drake (R) perform during the Dreamville Festival at Dorothea Dix Park on April 02, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage/Getty Images)
"So Far Gone" is a hugely influential mixtape.

J Cole and Drake have quite the complex relationship these days, but their bond and their parallel trajectories have too much history to completely vanish all because of a massive rap beef. Moreover, the former recently praised the latter during the latest episode of his Inevitable audio series with his manager and Dreamville cofounder Ibrahim Hamad, plus filmmaker Scott Lazer. Specifically, the North Carolina rapper compared his skillset to the Toronto superstar's, and also drew connections between their styles, how Drizzy impacted what Cole wanted to release, and how this all affected his Lights Please and The Warm Up mixtapes.

"Like, the only one with that perspective, and that sharp of a pen," J. Cole's comments began. "And I was like, 'Yo, that's gon' be my thing.' Like, that's what's going to separate me from the pack. So the second I heard that freestyle that Ib is talking about, the Drake freestyle, one, I was blown away because of how good it was. But two, subconsciously, I was like, 'Ha.' There was someone else out there the whole time, that was working maybe just as hard as I was working, and was thinking the same things, maybe. Who had the same opportunities to come and occupy a certain space and lane that I never saw any competition for. And right away, I saw, like, 'Oh, s**t.' Not only is this n***a nice, but then, when So Far Gone dropped, now it became – Because I didn't know how big Drake was."

J Cole Speaks On Drake's So Far Gone

"Here's a n***a that's been training up in some of the similar areas and also he has his own unique abilities, the same way I have my own unique abilities," J. Cole said of Drake. "But I'm like, 'Yo. Not only am I not the only one in this space, I'm now actually starting late.' My deal with Jay ain't even done, you know what I mean? Like, I'm not even anybody yet. Like, n***as don't even know me yet. And this n***a's off to the races with joints. Like, hits, like, cultural shifting s**t. So, to Ib's point and what Ib was getting at and where I think we end this was, at that moment, I had to shift my mindset and we had to shift our mindset about what The Warm Up was about to be. It no longer could just – 'cause Drake just changed the game."

Drake's So Far Gone was an incredibly influential and pioneering mixtape for how it changed expectations about the nature and quality of tracks one could find on a project of its caliber. J. Cole's freestyles over classic beats were no longer enough, and it's wild to see how both their artistic trajectories became so much more.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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