Take A Tour Of J. Cole's Room Where He Wrote Early Raps
J. Cole pleasantly surprised us last week, when he announced, out of the blue, that he'd be dropping a full album on December 9. The project is called 2014 Forest Hills Drive, named after the last home in lived in as a kid, in his hometown, Fayetteville, North Carolina.
There will be no singles or videos coming from the album before it's released, but we're still getting an idea of the content he'll be coming with in just two weeks.
In a new Complex cover story, Cole takes fans inside 2014 Forest Hills Drive, and shows us where he wrote his earliest raps, reliving the moment when he got serious about pursuing a career in hip-hop.
The Roc Nation rapper admits that despite recording the project in Los Angeles, the subject matter is not at all what you'd expected.
Over the past few years, he says that he's stopped looking for acknowledgement in the wrong places, and is solely focused on creating music that his fans will connect with.
"It’s crazy that I chose to record it in Hollywood because it’s such a 'f--k Hollywood' album," Cole explained. "Being out there maybe contributed to [me thinking], 'I’m bugging. There’s some sh-- that’s way more important than how many albums I sell and if I’m the best.'”
In the video above, Cole also reveals that he will rent the house (which he recently purchased) to low income families for a very low cost, in hopes that they'll have a chance to improve their living conditions. Way to pay it forward.
