J. Cole is a US hip hop rapper and record producer. Born Jermaine Lamarr Cole in 1985 in Frankfurt am Main, he is raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He begins posting songs on internet forums at 14 under the name Blaza, later using the name Therapist.

Early career and Dreamville

Cole first gains wider recognition after releasing his debut mixtape, The Come Up, in 2007. Around this period he founds Dreamville with label president Ibrahim Hamad. He continues with the mixtapes The Warm Up in 2009 and Friday Night Lights in 2010 after signing to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation imprint in 2009.

He also develops Dreamville as a record label and establishes the Dreamville Foundation, a non-profit organisation.

Albums and chart success

His debut studio album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, is released in 2011 and includes the single “Work Out”. It debuts at number one on the US Billboard 200 and is certified platinum by the RIAA.

Born Sinner follows in 2013, supported by “Power Trip” with Miguel. The album sells 297,000 copies in its first week, reaches number one in its third week, receives mostly positive reviews, and is later certified double platinum.

2014 Forest Hills Drive arrives in 2014 and also debuts at number one on the Billboard 200. It sells 353,000 copies in its first week, is certified platinum in 2015, and brings Cole his first Grammy Award nomination, for Best Rap Album. It is later followed by the documentaries J. Cole: Road to Homecoming and Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming.

4 Your Eyez Only is released in 2016 and becomes his fourth number one album, debuting with 492,000 album-equivalent units. It is certified gold and then platinum by the RIAA in 2017.

KOD comes out in 2018, featuring his alter ego kiLL edward and the single “Tidal Wave (just a little reference)”. It debuts at number one, becomes his fifth consecutive US number one album, breaks streaming records at the time, and is later certified platinum.

In 2020 he releases the two-song EP Lewis Street, which includes “The Climb Back”. His sixth studio album, The Off-Season, follows in 2021 and becomes his sixth consecutive number one album in the US. The album includes “My Life” with 21 Savage and Morray, which reaches number two on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Production and other work

Cole is self-taught on piano and works as a producer as well as a rapper. He produces for artists including Kendrick Lamar and Janet Jackson, and he handles most of the production on his own projects.

He is also associated with the collective All City Chess Club.