Cole On Not Being BFF With Drake, Groupies vs. Girlfriend And Lebron James (Pg. 2)
About a month ago, Drake mentioned the possibility of you jumping on a Thank Me Later bonus cut. Fact?
Man, me and Drake have been trying to get something done. Actually, if he reads this, tell him to send the shit he supposed to send. [Laughs] I understand we both busy and we spoke about doing some shit, but I guess schedule wise it hasn’t worked out. That would be ill, but as of now it’s not done.
What’s an actual conversation like between you guys? Is it past a ‘What’s good’ and ‘Congrats’?
It’s not that type of relationship yet. Right now, it’s a mutual respect, like I see what you’re doing, you’re killing the game, I’m a fan or whatever the case is. We’re both young and even though he’s more established and has hits, he still doesn’t have an album out. He still has to prep for that. So we’re not in the position to be best friends. We can save that for when we’re both laid up and chilling, but right now we both have work to do. There’s not many rappers who I feel I really know. I think Wale is one of the few that I have a real friendship with. Not saying that won’t happen with Drake because you never know, but right now it starts with respect.
No other industry friends you confide in?
Nah man. Even Wale… I don’t want to get that twisted like we have deep conversations about life. I just feel like I know him better than the others. I keep to myself by nature.
I bet the groupies don’t like that. How are you handling them?
[Laughs] I haven’t figured it out, but it’s not like that for me. I can’t tell you crazy groupie tales. I mean they scream and go crazy as if I’m Drake. [Laughs] The craziest thing that’s happened so far is girls just asking me to sign their breasts, but there hasn’t been any wild backstage stories. I truly believe that your mentality attracts certain things. It’s almost like [groupies] can feel the energy I give off, like it’s probably not going to go down. I mean, I notice them, but that energy stops them in their tracks. That must be what’s happening.
"Nas actually quoted one of my lines. I was like ‘Man, don’t quote me'... I used to type Nas lyrics just to put up on my wall"
Safe to assume you’re still with your girlfriend?
[Laughs] Yes, we’re still together.
It’s easy to count blessings right now, but what do you think has been your biggest mistake thus far?
Hmm, I don’t feel like I have any big mistakes. I have missteps, but those all led me to something greater. It wasn’t a harsh lesson, but I learned to be careful with who you let onto your team. Because these people at the end of the day are going to reflect you. If you’ve got a bunch of assholes around you, people might look at you in that light. I don’t want to go into specifics, but I learned that early.
On a lighter note, who are some well-known folks you were surprised to learn are J. Cole fans?
LeBron! I met LeBron at a show in Cleveland and his homeboy tells me, ‘Yo I ‘m loving the mixtape, especially that one joint, that turn off the lights joint.’ Then LeBron jumps in the conversation—mind you I hadn’t even spoken to him and this nigga got a deep-ass voice—singing “Lights Please.” I was like ‘What you know about that? Please don’t tell me LeBron James listens to my mixtape!’
What was your reaction to the Nas cosign?
