J. Cole is simply one of *the* artists of the last decade in any genre. His first six albums have all topped the Billboard 200 and he’s had multiple top-ten singles with the likes of ‘My Life’, ‘Middle Child’, ‘ATM’, and ‘Déjà Vu’ — he also matched a chart record that had been held by The Beatles for over 50 years when he had six tracks in the top 20 at once. He is also the first artist ever to have three tracks debut in the top three at the same time. He has been nominated for more than a dozen Grammys and finally won one in 2020 — the Best Rap Song Award for ‘A Lot’. He has also produced records for the likes of Kendrick Lamar, DJ Khaled, Janet Jackson, and Ari Lennox. His most-streamed track, ‘No Role Modelz’, from 2014’s multi-platinum 2014 Forest Hills Drive, has been played on Spotify an incredible 1.4 billion times.
Cole has been rapping and producing since he was 12 years old. He began to make waves with the release of his second mixtape, 2009’s The Warm Up, and soon found himself appearing on tracks with giants such as Jay-Z, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli. He opened for the likes of Drake and Tinie Tempah and became headline news himself when his debut album, 2011’s Cole World: The Sideline Story went to number one.
Since then, Cole has been unstoppable, with album after album going platinum and influencing a generation of fans and aspiring rappers and producers. He has even branched out into a basketball career and is currently signed to the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite league.