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.”
Read More: J Cole Fans Celebrate The Long-Awaited Arrival Of His Mixtapes On Streaming Services
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.
Read More: Future Gets Called Out For Downplaying His Role In Drake Beef
The post J Cole Reveals How Listening To Drake For The First Time Changed His Career appeared first on HotNewHipHop.
