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Believe it or not, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar have a mutual respect for one another. So much so, that back in the days, the Roc Nation rhymer wanted to sign him to his own burgeoning record label.
In an in-depth interview with ‘The Combat Jack Show,’ the North Carolina MC recalls his 2010 meeting with the Compton MC when he was an unknown rapper in the game.
“I met Kendrick at a time when all I had out was ‘The Warm Up,’ nobody knew who he was, he didn’t have a deal,” he said. “He was signed to Top [Dawg] — I didn’t know he was signed to Top — “I actually wanted to sign him, but I didn’t have my business right. I didn’t know he was with Top [Dawg].”
Hollywood Cole says that even back then, K.Dot was a ferocious rhymer with an enormous amount of talent.
“But in my mind, he was the first person I ever found…I remember tellin’ everybody like, ‘Yo, I’m tryna sign this kid. Like yo, this n—-’s nasty!’” he said.
“I’m looking at this short, dark-skinned kid like, ‘Yo, who is this kid?’ and then he gets on the mic and murders,” he continues. “I’m a rapper’s rapper and I’m not easily impressed, and when I heard him I was instantly [impressed].”
Later on, Cole was able to hear some tunes Lamar was working on — ‘P—- and Patron’ and ‘Cut You Off’ — and was convinced that this young rapper was a superstar in the making.
“I was like, ‘Yo, I’m f—in’ with this n—-. I wanna sign this n—-!’ From there, I felt compelled to always give him any jewels I could,” he recalls.
Cole eventually connected Lamar with Dr. Dre and the rest, they say, is musical history.
“This n—- blew the f— up and reached levels that I hadn’t reached,” he said. “I didn’t know the n—- would go platinum before me, but I definitely saw it for him. I believed and believe.”
J. Cole offers plenty of anecdotal jewels on during this interview. So grab a sandwich and a drink, and listen to the full two-hour interview below.
Listen to J. Cole’s Interview With ‘The Combat Jack Show’
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