J. Cole is very grateful for his experiences with hip-hop, although he doesn't necessarily want to replicate that process for his kids. In his new Apple Music interview with Nadeska Alexis to talk about his album The Fall-Off and so much more, he revealed he doesn't feel comfortable playing his favorite hip-hop songs around his children.
The Dreamville rapper explained how his stepfather introduced him to Tupac when he was six or seven years old. While he appreciates this early exposure, the content matter of his favorite rap music is what makes him hold back.
"Once I had kids, it's like, I'm not personally comfortable," Cole remarked, as caught by Ahmed/The Ears on Twitter. "I'm very grateful I grew up in this house with my mom and eventually my stepfather who had no regard for what the f**k I heard or watched. I got a stepfather who put me on to 'Pac at six, seven years old. Thank God. I can't do that. I can't play that for my kids. By the way, 'Pac was maybe one of the best he played. He had Ice-T albums, [Ice] Cube albums. It was straight gangster rap.
"And I'm grateful, though. 'Cause I'm riding to school with 'Pour Out A Little Liquor' [by Thug Life, Tupac's group] playing, like, every day," the North Carolina lyricist continued. "I'm ten years old... I had that experience. I'm not comfortable yet, and I don't know if it's right or wrong. I'm not judging myself or anybody else for what they do. But I'm not comfortable playing my favorite songs around my kids yet. 'Cause the content. It's sexual, it's violent."
J. Cole's Wife Reacts To Kendrick Lamar Apology
Elsewhere during the interview, J. Cole revealed his wife Melissa Heholt's reaction when she learned he planned to apologize after responding to Kendrick Lamar back in 2024.
"I told my wife. She's the only one I told, I ain't tell anybody else," he remarked. "She started crying. 'Cause she knows how I feel about him... And she knows. She saw how it was weighing on me two, three days before that. She could see my whole energy... So when I go and do it, I felt even better."
Read More: J. Cole "The Fall-Off" Review
