J. Cole has reminisced about when he first listened to Drake and how the Canadian artist impacted his successful mixtape The Warm Up.
In the second installment of his latest podcast Inevitable, where he reflects on his entire career, the Dreamville artist reminisced about discovering Drake’s music on MySpace and being amazed by his immense popularity.
“There was this one guy in particular that I recall seeing on MySpace, he was a light-skinned artist who had the appearance of an R&B singer, but he also rapped,” he shared. It was like a mix of neo-soul and raps similar to Little Brother, but with lyrics talking about women or something. The guy’s entire attitude was extremely laid-back.
“However, his performances were exceptional for an unknown or unsigned individual!” I thought, ‘Who is this person?! How did he manage to get 20,000 plays within one day?!
He then mentioned that, a few years afterwards, Jessica Nabongo introduced him to a song by Drake called ‘Sooner Than Later’. I was thinking, ‘This stuff is really awesome.’ Bro, I listened to that music constantly and consecutively.
It turns out that he had all those plays because he was already famous, which I was unaware of. He was already a person who was gaining popularity from Degrassi, but I wasn’t familiar with the show or who he was.
In a later part of the episode, J. Cole talked about seeing the huge effect of Drake’s successful project So Far Gone, which motivated him to enhance his own work on The Warm Up.
Remembering his response to Drizzy’s “Say What’s Real,” a freestyle over Kanye West’s “Say You Will,” Cole exclaimed: “He absolutely killed it.” I was amazed by how he dominated that damn beat. I was thinking, ‘Wow, he’s absolutely incredible.’
Conversely, the song caused Cole to reassess his artist’s confidence as he was on the verge of signing with JAY-Z’s Roc Nation, and he recognized he wasn’t the sole up-and-coming “relatable” rapper.
“I used to feel secure in my uniqueness, believing I was the sole inhabitant of that domain, possessing the same viewpoint and writing skills.” He thought, “That’s going to be my unique selling point and set me apart from others,” he explained.
As soon as I heard “Say What’s Real”, I was immediately impressed by its quality. However, deep down I was thinking, ‘Ha! There was another individual who was putting in the same amount of effort as me, sharing similar thoughts, and had the same chance to pursue a certain path that I never considered competitive.
He added: “I was unaware of Drake’s fame and the Young Money brand.” Therefore, when So Far Gone was released, it quickly became popular within just one day.
The very next week we were in Miami for spring break, playing Drake‘s So Far Gone on the way there and hearing it everywhere in Miami. It was immediately obvious, ‘Oh no! This is an absolutely amazing change.’
I feel as though I am not the only one here, but also behind schedule. I haven’t even completed my agreement with Jay. I’m not anybody important yet. And this guy is quickly making a name for himself with successful songs that have a major impact on culture. In that instant, I had to change my thinking about what The Warm Up would be because Drake completely altered the rules.
During the episode, Cole clarified that The Warm Up was originally meant to be a collection of freestyles to maintain his lyrical skills, influenced by Kobe Bryant’s dedication to training.
“I thought, ‘Kobe Bryant is currently the top player in the NBA due to his dedication and hard work.” If Kobe is dedicating time to improving his skills during the off season, then why shouldn’t I be writing a verse daily? He remembered thinking, “Why am I labeling myself a rapper if I’m not writing and rapping every day like he is in the gym?”
The original concept for The Warm Up was to release a mixtape featuring freestyle tracks such as ‘Just to Get By,’ ‘Grown Simba,’ and the ‘2012’ joint. It was intended to serve as a form of practice. It was preparing me for the future events.
Although The Warm Up did contain several freestyle performances over well-known beats by artists like JAY-Z and Kanye West, the majority of the 22-track mixtape consisted of original songs, including popular tracks like “Lights Please,” “Grown Simba,” and “I Get Up.”
Naturally, it wasn’t too long before J. Cole and Drake worked together on “In the Morning,” a track featured on Cole’s 2010 mixtape Friday Night Lights and his first album Cole World: The Sideline Story.
