J Cole talks Wale, Kendrick Lamar, Joey Badass, Beating the System, Horn Vs Halo

by @NickHuffBarili · November 19

In part 2 J Cole talks to Nick about creating music for his sophomore album. “People don’t know I really just dropped two albums on you this year. If you combine all Truly Yours 1, 2 and 3 and then with my album and…whatever songs I leaked…and I still have more stashed that we haven’t put out.” Asked why he begins Born Sinner stating “Its way darker this time” Cole states “There was some real dark shit that I made in the processes. Some of it aint even on it. There was one song…that was mad dark…Almost too dark…But sometimes it was dark, sometimes it was Chris Tucker cause that’s just how I was feeling that day. But the point is I was just free. Just free to get shit off my chest. [like] Let Nas Down…or play with flows but really say some shit like Rich Niggaz”. “A song like Let Nas Down is like…weight of your chest. Ever told a secret to somebody [and feel like] I’m glad I told? That’s what Born Sinner felt like for me.” Cole goes on to describe what it felt like to finish his album. “I’m literally sitting in the studio by myself, I had been in the studio 7 straight days. No shower. No bullshit. Literally straight. I didn’t even see the outside until I was done with the album. Everybody was sleeping in the lounge..Its like 6, 7am maybe even 8 am. I’m in the studio listening to the album and I could not believe. Its almost like I’m listening to it like a fan for the first time. As soon as Born Sinner came on, the last song, [I] started crying grateful tears and also unbelievable tears like I really did it. I beat this shit. I beat yall niggaz. I could of been crushed. I could have been broken. I could have lost. The shit I had to go through….Its just the way the game was set up. It wasn’t set up for me to survive in my purest state…I’m not supposed to still be here dropping Crooked Smile and having that be a smash.”

You will have to watch the video for the the rest of this interview including Cole talking about how the system almost crushed Wale’s career, dealing with duality and decoding the line “did a deal with the devil, now I’m pleading with him like give me my soul.”

Tune in next week for part 3 of our conversation with J Cole!

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