You didn’t have any type of father-son relationship with your stepdad?
With him, nah. I mean I thought I did. I looked up to him, but I probably didn’t ever let him know that. He did some foul shit at the end, so I never respected him after that. He disciplined, he whooped us. I never really looked at him like no father. But I still have to say that things were pretty good. We had stability at first but it all crashed and burned right as I was going to college [at NYC’s St. John’s University]. That’s when The Come Up was being made. I was still early in school, and that’s when she was really hurting because now she’s back on her own and both her sons are gone. She’s in debt, house foreclosed. I was watching her, literally, trying to stay afloat. That’s where a lot of the anger from Come Up came from.
Channeling out through your music.
That was the most angry I’ve ever been. On that mixtape. But I don’t feel like that no more. I’m at peace with how I grew up. Because it was nice. It wasn’t like I never saw my father. There’s kids way worse off than me.
Is school something you were always was attracted to?
My mom. She had such an influence on me. She put such an emphasis on school. I loved the reaction that she would give me when I came home with some straight A’s. I lived for that. I wanted to have the highest score in the class. I was just good at soaking up information quick, but my passion was elsewhere. At a young age it was basketball, and then my passion turned to rapping.
How much of a culture shock was it when you moved to New York?
It was crazy. Ridiculous. On my own, bro. I was fuckin’ silly. I remember my best female friend from high school used to ask me, ‘You going to New York? You crazy? Aren’t you scared?’ And I used to front. But man, I was 18 years old going to somewhere I’d never really been. Living in a dorm—all I knew was living with my moms up until that point. For me to do that, it really just took, like a blind confidence that I didn’t really have, but I was telling myself I had it. The first time I came to New York I told myself that I was gonna move there. I just knew. I visited once when I was 13 or 14. I said, ‘I’m gonna move here one day.’ I didn’t really know ‘til probably about 16 or 17. I was like, I can go to school in New York, college. It clicked I guess [snaps fingers]. Like: college. I could do it. It was almost like an excuse to go to New York City, and nobody’s even gotta know what I’m going for. Because I wasn’t telling people, ‘Yeah I’m gonna go get a deal.’ I was like, ‘I’m gonna go to college in New York.’ But inside I knew what it was for.
The girls think this nigga’s handsome. But sorry ladies, young Mr. Cole is taken. He did a great job keeping his relationship status under wraps until gossip site YBF reported that Jermaine, 25, got down on bended knee on October 16, 2010. After the story was published, Melissa Heholt confirmed she and Cole have been together six years, but that they are not, in fact, engaged.
In your song, “Knock On Wood” you rap about missing NBA All-Star Weekend to spend time with your girl. How do you balance your career responsibilities with obligations to your relationship?
I speak on those things to get that shit off my chest. Because I know that’s something mad people are going through. Balancing career and a relationship or just juggling a relationship, period. But yeah, I’m trying. Taking that one day at a time. And it’s great—luckily—you know.
You met her in New York?
Yeah, that’s a college sweetheart. That’s like so serious I won’t even speak on that. I’m not saying you was gonna go any further, but I’m not gonna go any further and probably never will ‘cause that’s a really serious relationship, not one of those, “These niggas are dating.” I’ve been in a relationship so long, man, that sometimes that shit is a marriage, like damn near it. It takes a big sacrifice on both sides. Obviously on the person whose career is not in this business, it’s gonna be a very big sacrifice. I guess that’s the answer to your original question, it’s just a time sacrifice. But so far, so good. I know there’s no science to this shit, but I know we’re already beatin’ the odds.
When you talk about the album, you throw out the term ‘classic.’ Everybody hopes for that, but what makes you keep articulating it?
Maybe I’ll speak it into existence [laughs]. But it’s just telling you where my mind is. It gives insight into how high my standards are, and why I let some of these songs go that somebody else would be like, “Yo, how are you not gonna put that on the album?” My standards are a little higher.
You came out onstage at his Radio City set. You recently agreed to do some European tour dates together. But the public still seems hell-bent on makin’ you and Drake rivals. Does that affect your personal relationship with him?
I don’t think it affects it. I’m aware of it. I think he’s aware of it too. But it’s not something that’s really spoken on. But moments like at Radio City crush all the talk of any kind of beef. I think it’s just a reflection of how excited people are. I feel like we’re probably the first two artists in a long time that they’ve been able to be so excited about.
Mr. Graham sent me a text, said you guys were making a song together called “The Luckiest People.” Can you confirm?
Hell yeah. That shit is dope. I’m recording my verse. Drake is one of the people I really wanted to work with as soon as I got myself to the place where I needed to be. He got himself there. He worked super hard. Those are the type of people I wanna work with. I wanna feel like I earned it.
With him, nah. I mean I thought I did. I looked up to him, but I probably didn’t ever let him know that. He did some foul shit at the end, so I never respected him after that. He disciplined, he whooped us. I never really looked at him like no father. But I still have to say that things were pretty good. We had stability at first but it all crashed and burned right as I was going to college [at NYC’s St. John’s University]. That’s when The Come Up was being made. I was still early in school, and that’s when she was really hurting because now she’s back on her own and both her sons are gone. She’s in debt, house foreclosed. I was watching her, literally, trying to stay afloat. That’s where a lot of the anger from Come Up came from.
Channeling out through your music.
That was the most angry I’ve ever been. On that mixtape. But I don’t feel like that no more. I’m at peace with how I grew up. Because it was nice. It wasn’t like I never saw my father. There’s kids way worse off than me.
Is school something you were always was attracted to?
My mom. She had such an influence on me. She put such an emphasis on school. I loved the reaction that she would give me when I came home with some straight A’s. I lived for that. I wanted to have the highest score in the class. I was just good at soaking up information quick, but my passion was elsewhere. At a young age it was basketball, and then my passion turned to rapping.
How much of a culture shock was it when you moved to New York?
It was crazy. Ridiculous. On my own, bro. I was fuckin’ silly. I remember my best female friend from high school used to ask me, ‘You going to New York? You crazy? Aren’t you scared?’ And I used to front. But man, I was 18 years old going to somewhere I’d never really been. Living in a dorm—all I knew was living with my moms up until that point. For me to do that, it really just took, like a blind confidence that I didn’t really have, but I was telling myself I had it. The first time I came to New York I told myself that I was gonna move there. I just knew. I visited once when I was 13 or 14. I said, ‘I’m gonna move here one day.’ I didn’t really know ‘til probably about 16 or 17. I was like, I can go to school in New York, college. It clicked I guess [snaps fingers]. Like: college. I could do it. It was almost like an excuse to go to New York City, and nobody’s even gotta know what I’m going for. Because I wasn’t telling people, ‘Yeah I’m gonna go get a deal.’ I was like, ‘I’m gonna go to college in New York.’ But inside I knew what it was for.
The girls think this nigga’s handsome. But sorry ladies, young Mr. Cole is taken. He did a great job keeping his relationship status under wraps until gossip site YBF reported that Jermaine, 25, got down on bended knee on October 16, 2010. After the story was published, Melissa Heholt confirmed she and Cole have been together six years, but that they are not, in fact, engaged.
In your song, “Knock On Wood” you rap about missing NBA All-Star Weekend to spend time with your girl. How do you balance your career responsibilities with obligations to your relationship?
I speak on those things to get that shit off my chest. Because I know that’s something mad people are going through. Balancing career and a relationship or just juggling a relationship, period. But yeah, I’m trying. Taking that one day at a time. And it’s great—luckily—you know.
You met her in New York?
Yeah, that’s a college sweetheart. That’s like so serious I won’t even speak on that. I’m not saying you was gonna go any further, but I’m not gonna go any further and probably never will ‘cause that’s a really serious relationship, not one of those, “These niggas are dating.” I’ve been in a relationship so long, man, that sometimes that shit is a marriage, like damn near it. It takes a big sacrifice on both sides. Obviously on the person whose career is not in this business, it’s gonna be a very big sacrifice. I guess that’s the answer to your original question, it’s just a time sacrifice. But so far, so good. I know there’s no science to this shit, but I know we’re already beatin’ the odds.
When you talk about the album, you throw out the term ‘classic.’ Everybody hopes for that, but what makes you keep articulating it?
Maybe I’ll speak it into existence [laughs]. But it’s just telling you where my mind is. It gives insight into how high my standards are, and why I let some of these songs go that somebody else would be like, “Yo, how are you not gonna put that on the album?” My standards are a little higher.
You came out onstage at his Radio City set. You recently agreed to do some European tour dates together. But the public still seems hell-bent on makin’ you and Drake rivals. Does that affect your personal relationship with him?
I don’t think it affects it. I’m aware of it. I think he’s aware of it too. But it’s not something that’s really spoken on. But moments like at Radio City crush all the talk of any kind of beef. I think it’s just a reflection of how excited people are. I feel like we’re probably the first two artists in a long time that they’ve been able to be so excited about.
Mr. Graham sent me a text, said you guys were making a song together called “The Luckiest People.” Can you confirm?
Hell yeah. That shit is dope. I’m recording my verse. Drake is one of the people I really wanted to work with as soon as I got myself to the place where I needed to be. He got himself there. He worked super hard. Those are the type of people I wanna work with. I wanna feel like I earned it.
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