Top 40 J. Cole Quotes

Words matter. These are the best J. Cole Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.

I now possess the tools as a producer and a songwriter

I now possess the tools as a producer and a songwriter to really just go out and make smashes all day long. I could make an album full of smash records that got pop appeal. But my heart is in hip-hop. My heart is in telling stories. And it’s like therapy for me.
J. Cole
I have a little bit of that gamer spirit in me. I just don’t have the time to be a gamer. But in another life, I would be one.
J. Cole
I had a rat-tail when I was younger. I had this nice Bobby Brown fade, with a rat-tail that was long enough to wrap around my face. I used to chew on the end and bite it.
J. Cole
Barack Obama would not be President if he were dark skin. You know what I mean? That’s just the truth. I might not be as successful as I am now if I was dark skin.
J. Cole
I started playing violin in the 5th grade. They had a program in school where you could get out of class to go play instruments. So I raised my hand, left out of class, me and a bunch of my homeboys, just to get out of class for that day. They asked what instrument you wanted to play and I picked the violin.
J. Cole
I put a lot of pressure on myself. I think something’s not good enough, and I won’t stop until I feel like I’ve made it. I’m never satisfied.
J. Cole
I was a class clown. At 12, I was definitely clowning. I was making all the jokes. But I was smart, so the teachers didn’t know what to do with me.
J. Cole
I feel like the reason people feel like they know me is because I’m giving you myself in the music. There’s where the connection comes from; you can’t Twitter that.
J. Cole
I’m not gonna be bad at anything, and I want to actually be the best at anything I’m doing. So if I’m playing basketball, if I’m taking the SATs, like, there’s a competitive spirit behind it. With production, it’s the same thing.
J. Cole
My parents were divorced by the time I was even conscious – like, I don’t remember them ever being together.
J. Cole
I actually started off majoring in computer science, but I knew right away I wasn’t going to stay with it. It was because I had this one professor who was the loneliest, saddest man I’ve ever known. He was a programmer, and I knew that I didn’t want to do whatever he did.
J. Cole
People think because I’ve got some success, I’ve made it, but in my eyes it’s like, ‘How long has Jay Z been in the business? How many albums has he got?’ Not that I’m trying to be Jay Z, but I am trying to be around for a long time.
J. Cole
Usually I start with a beat, I start making a beat, and my producer side is making the beat. And on a good day, my rapper side will jump in and start the writing process – maybe come up with a hook or start a verse. Sometimes it just happens like that. A song like ‘Lights Please’ happens like that.
J. Cole
I’m half-black, half-white, so I basically put it like this: I can fit in anywhere. That’s why I write so many stories from so many different perspectives, because I’ve seen so many.
J. Cole
I was a huge Mike Tyson fan growing up; his fights were always on in my house.
J. Cole
Producing all my own songs and refusing to go to the hot producer. That’s the biggest risk I’ve taken so far.
J. Cole
I still wanna rap better than everybody else, and I wanna say important things.
J. Cole
There was the time I bought three cars in the span of three or four weeks. It was crazy; it wasn’t greedy. It was mine, my girl’s, my mom’s. I got Benzes for my ladies. But I felt crazy. You have to understand I come from a world where we’re very modest. But that’s not greedy. That’s nice, right?
J. Cole
I met Will Smith twice. I didn’t talk to him for too long but I was trying to let him know that my age group grew up watching him – he was the coolest guy on television and the coolest guy in movies.
J. Cole
I always feel like it’s two key ingredients when it comes to following your dreams, making something happen that the average person deems difficult. If you truly believe it, that’s step one. Step two, is, you know, the hard work that goes along with it.
J. Cole
Sometimes I try a Mai Tai. It’s so fruity. It’s a little embarrassing, but I like it.
J. Cole
College isn’t in everyone’s hearts. I am living proof, though, that school doesn’t mess up your plans. It gives you more experiences to write about.
J. Cole
I feel like I’m a New Yorker because I really know the city. I actually tell the drivers where to go – I have this bad habit, I always question the drivers. I do that all the time because I feel like I know the best way, when really it’s like, ‘Yo, man, shut up. This dude does this every day of his life.’
J. Cole
Anything I do, I want to do it well.
J. Cole
I just feel like, with rappers, there’s so much complacency. It’s like, ‘Oh, I’m a rapper. I’m successful. I make money. That’s all that matters.’ But there’s a lot of stuff going on in the world. Whether or not you’re aware of it, it’s happening.
J. Cole
One day, I’ll be listening to a bunch of Ray Charles, the next day it’s nothing but Red Hot Chili Peppers. The next day it might be Tupac all day.
J. Cole
I was a super-duper Tupac fan, and I realized later, when I became a huge Nas fan and a huge Eminem fan, I was drawn to the storytellers. They all told stories in different ways, but they were all like the best storytellers.
J. Cole
I actually started off majoring in computer science, but I knew right away I wasn’t going to stay with it. It was because I had this one professor who was the loneliest, saddest man I’ve ever known. He was a programmer, and I knew that I didn’t want to do whatever he did. So after that, I switched to Communications.
J. Cole
I was just a goofy little funny kid, who was always getting sent to the principal. It wasn’t serious because I was smart. I wasn’t like a true troublemaker, just rambunctious – like, talkative and trying to be funny. That was me in middle-school.
J. Cole
No rapper in the world from Jay-Z to Tupac to Biggie has 100 percent love on everything they do.
J. Cole
I kinda like the idea of having an album that’s all me.
J. Cole
I want people to follow their dreams, yes... but I'm no

I want people to follow their dreams, yes… but I’m not interested in telling young black kids how to be rappers… I want to show them that there’s so many other paths you can take, besides a rapper or basketball player.
J. Cole
If I was to go to sleep before midnight, I would feel weird about myself, like I wasted a day. My most productive hours are between midnight and five.
J. Cole
I pay attention to lyrics and I know what rap fans care about. I try to write for the average listener and I’m conscious of the mainstream without selling out.
J. Cole
You can’t reverse fame. You can lose all the money, but you’ll never lose people knowing you.
J. Cole
The thing about being an artist today is you get to develop right in front of people’s eyes before you even put out an album.
J. Cole
I want to be like Bruce Springsteen or something, making songs that are relevant.
J. Cole
There’s been people who’ve rapped and produced – like Kanye – but I don’t feel like on the rapping side there’s ever been a producer who can rap as good as I think I can rap.
J. Cole
I’m here to spread a message of hope. Follow your heart. Don’t follow what you’ve been told you’re supposed to do.
J. Cole
I had a lot of resistance, and not just to fame. I was always conscious of not changing.
J. Cole