J. Cole may be first known as Jay-Z's protege but he has emerged from the sideline to become a Billboard chart topper. He was born Jermaine Lamarr Cole on January 28, 1985 in Frankfurt, Germany on to a European American mother and an African American father. He moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina with his mother when his father left the family.
Cole fascination of rapping started at the age of 14 when J.Money put him in the rap game and his cousin showed him the basics of rhyming and word play. He was an expert in lyrics first before in beats. His mother then bought him a beat machine which helped him to produce his own music. Cole spent the remainder of his teen years as Therapist, posting his music online under the moniker.
With only courage and determination, Cole stood outside Jay-Z's office building for hours to give him his demo tape. But when the big rapper came out, Cole was shunned. But luck came not long before that. He received a text from an associate who told him that he has a business meeting with Jay-Z to attend.
Jay-Z apparently heard his song "Lights Please". Cole was officially the first artist to be signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation. "I got the record deal," Cole recalled, "but I still had to learn and improve as far as being ready to drop an album." He was then featured in his mentor's album "The Blueprint 3" on the track "A Star Is Born." From there, Cole was a known collaborator, working with Wale, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, B.o.B and a lot more.
All the while, Cole was preparing for his first studio album. "All singles done. Album ridiculous. Title Perfect. Music incredible. Thank you for your patience. Let's change the game," he tweeted in May 2011. The album is called "Cole World: The Sideline Story" and was released on September 27, 2011. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 200 in its first week on sale.
Imagine Kanye West being born and raised in Meridian, Mississippi. Now imagine him being produced by Organized Noize. That imagery would create music almost identical to the Crooked Letter state's next hip-hop heavyweight, Big K.R.IT (King remembered in time). The 24-year-old rapper slash producer defied the odds of both his personal life and hip-hop's current landscape to be the most in-demand and respected rookie on the Cinematic Music Group/Def Jam Records roster.
Rapping since twelve-years-old and producing from age 14, KRIT personifies the term Student of the Game. Being a product of one of the smallest cities below the Mason Dixon line the young MC didn't have the financial means required to purchase tracks and studio time. So K.R.I.T took a much more economical approach and began mastering the MTV Music Generator on his Playstation. Wanting to elevate his sonic craft he then studied local friends who were a bit more advanced in certain areas of production, or sit for hours and watch an engineer homie mix a song.
On the lyrical side, Big K.R.I.T kept an ear bent to the cadence and profound pronunciation of great orators like the Notorious B.I.G, Tupac and Pimp C. The Mississippi eagle also bathed in the classic compositions of legendary teams like OutKast and 8ball and MJG. "These guys influenced me because they rapped about what they knew about and they kept it 100," says K.R.I.T. "Even like an Organized Noize––they stayed true to what they did and branded a sound. So they influenced me to stay true to myself and rap about what I know about."
The rap game has received a breath of country fresh air: an artist that insists on remaining an individual and feeding his growing audience with feel-good rhythms and "rhymes with morals." Big K.R.I.T. is in fact The Truth. Within a month of acquiring his deal he was not only critically acclaimed and courted for interviews by media giants like XXL, The Source, Rapradar.com and MTV.com, he gained fans in his own peer group––from buzzing newbies (Wiz Khalifa, Currensy and Smoke Dza) to living legends (Ludacris, Bun B). Today whether its hip-hop lovers in the skyscraping offices of Def Jam or those in the small town of Meridian, MS, they're all feeling the synergy being churned by the birth of rap's next royalty. So until Mr. King Remembered In Time releases his 2011 Def Jam debut all hip-hop can do is witness a reign on the rise.
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