Tony Yayo reflected on being an early supporter of J. Cole during a recent interview with VladTV. The former G-Unit member says that he took Cole to 50 Cent’s home in Connecticut where he played “Simba,” off The Come Up Mixtape, Vol. 1.
“That’s one of my talents is finding the next ones, it’s easy,” Yayo told VladTV.
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Cole recalled the night referenced by Yayo during an interview with Vibe back in 2013. He had said that “Lights Please” and “Lost Ones” were out at the time, but not popping off yet.
“Yayo was going nuts, like, ‘Son!’ When I see Tony Yayo today we still talk about that,” he told the outlet at the time. “It was a crazy night.”
He added that 50 wasn’t home that night, but when they played the G-Unit rapper Cole’s music, he wasn’t as impressed as he would’ve liked him to be: “Supposedly the story is that he played 50 my shit and 50 wasn’t sure. Like, ‘I don’t know, man. Is he one of these skinny jeans n****s?’ He couldn’t see it, but it was a good time in my life. It was brand new, fresh. Being in that crib was amazing.”
Elsewhere in Yayo’s interview with VladTV, he also said that he was an early investor in many other artists including Max B, French Montana, Danny Brown, and Nicki Minaj.
Check out Yayo’s appearance on VladTV below.