J. Cole Explains How Kanye West ‘Changed’ His Life & Influenced His Music

Recently, J. Cole dropped his new audio series, which will document his journey through music, and he also discussed how Kanye West influenced his career. Cole said, “I was an aggressive battle rapper that had bars, and I was a storyteller of fantasy, like ‘The Storm’ — completely made-up scenarios. I had that, but my life was actually hella regular.” He continued, “I didn’t sell no drugs, it was nothing like my favorite rappers. It was nothing like JAY-Z‘s life, it was nothing like what ‘Pac’s life appeared to be. There was nothing gangster about it. I didn’t know how to talk about my life in a way that people could connect with. And then f**king Kanye West happened.” He added, “In the summer of 2003 before I went to college, the ‘Through the Wire’ video dropped — and that s**t changed my life. I became a massive Kanye fan. Kanye was the first time that I saw myself in somebody. He just made it possible to talk about your life or your regular-ass perspective in a way that’s appealing.” Cole continued, “This n**ga became my favorite artist at that point. He kinda cracked my mind open.”

Story source: hiphopdx.com