J. Cole

Ask J. Cole how he carries the immense pressure of being tagged as hip-hop's next game-changing MC. Indeed, that seemingly overwhelming expectation has followed the 26-year-old lyricist/producer following a string of critically acclaimed mixtapes (2007's The Come Up; 2009's The Warm Up; and 2010's now classic Friday Night Lights). Cole made the jump from underground rhyme monster to being hailed as the next MC to blow. Then came a wave of mainstream accolades including being named in XXL Magazine's 2010 installment of Top Ten Freshmen and scoring the no. 5 spot in VIBE's 2011 Greatest Rapper Alive Under 30 (Cole found himself amongst the platinum company of his new-age hip-hop peers Nicki Minaj, Drake and Lupe Fiasco.

The statuesque spitter is confident when he discusses the unmitigated buzz surrounding his debut album Cole World: The Sideline Story.

In Frankfurt, Germany, Jermaine Cole was born to parents stationed in the military. A year later, Cole and his family, which included an older brother, moved overseas to the state of North Carolina. These were good times for the excitable youngster, who by the age of four was already becoming a hip-hop head as posters of rap pioneer Kool Moe Dee covered his walls. While he was far too young to realize it back then, Cole was on a path to becoming an MC.

Cole accepted an academic scholarship to New York's St. John's University and the brash MC promptly worked NYC's hip-hop music scene. After releasing his first mixtape 2007's The Come Up, he made the rounds to various labels. Suddenly, he was gaining a reputation amongst record A&R's who heard promise in Cole's rewind-worthy skills. Enter music industry heavyweight Mark Pitts. The respected former manager of the late Notorious B.I.G. and label executive took on Cole, eventually playing his new client's music to longtime friend JAY-Z. He promptly signed Cole to Roc Nation. "When I got that phone call from JAY, I knew it was real," recalls Cole.

As his debut album title Cole World: The Sideline Story makes clear, this is J. Cole's time. This is his moment. Thinking back on his unlikely journey, Cole takes an insightful pause and adds, "I want to win at all levels of my career. I'm ready."