Damn I just realized they didn’t talk about the Diddy VMA’s fight during the Born Sinner episodes

The Cool Off otw

Is he retiring? Are we getting a season two? What’s the temperature boys?

Looking for an update either around his birthday or definitely something leading into dreamville fest. He has to have some new s*** to perform by then lol

Season 2 coming soon

The Cool Down April 2025

we ready fam

So S2 is confirmed, will the fall off drop after it but also since this the last dreamville fest I'm sure he's tryna perform newer songs tho

Episode 7

This episode explored a lot of how Cole felt like he didn't really put his best foot forward with CW and trying to make up for that by jumping right into making Born Sinner. But he was already burnout from CW so he felt very uninspired and was just forcing it.

The interesting part is he said he felt like he was overthinking all the songs in the studios compared to his crib. And it's facts tho cause the Truly Your series came from just making s*** in his crib, and that's some of his best writing. 3 wishes, cousins, stay, head bussa, this the comp of pt1 and pt2 needs to come on streaming. It's a shame that these tracks didn't make BS

The part where he got emotional over can I holla at you really hit

Also the LA story about the house party and frank and earl being there is crazy, feel like they never acknowledge each other before, beside that one pic

"I was almost on Worldstar"

Do you have summaries for the other 4 episodes?

Glad to see She's Mine Part 1 & 2 get love. Jon gets it.

yes

I'll post them now

stay tuned

J. Cole Audio Series Episode 7 Highlights - ‘Born Sinner Pt. 1’ (Part 1)

• This episode talks about J. Cole’s internal struggles with the release of ‘Sideline Story’ and how this would motivate him for ‘Born Sinner’ (and drive him into further frustration and depression)

• Cole knew his debut wasn’t as good as he had hoped, and it started to get to him. He was frustrated he didn’t start his career out with a classic (like he planned). He described the feeling at the time as “quiet disappointment”

• Cole told a story about how one day he was shooting around at the gym after SS dropped. This guy walks up to him and says like Cole I fw you, “but what happened with the album tho?” Cole didn’t take this well, he didn’t say anything in response just looked at him in disgust almost to say “are you serious?” The guy was like “my bad” and walked away. In the moment, Cole was pissed but looking back, Cole realizes the guy said it from a place of love. “In years to come, God bless that dude. At that time, I wasn’t ready or able to have that conversation.”

• Ib & Cole then talked about starting to work on ‘Born Sinner.’ They rented a house in LA with 3 bedrooms for 12 people. One car to get to the studio, packing mfs in the trunk while Cole had a #1 album. Cole said he was living way below his means because he was so afraid of going broke.

• They talked about throwing parties at this LA crib, said the likes of Frank Ocean, Earl Sweatshirt, Teyana Taylor popped out and a bunch of the Memphis Grizzlies. Frank Ocean told Cole “nice crib” and Cole was like “This ain’t my house”.

• Because Cole had that bad taste in his mouth of how his SS debut went, he wanted to get started on the new album immediately. Went to LA because it was almost like a fresh start, still felt new to him.

J. Cole Audio Series Episode 7 Highlights - ‘Born Sinner Pt. 1’ (Part 2)

• In LA, Cole made ‘Kenny Lofton,’ ‘LAnd of the Snakes,’ ‘Born Sinner’ and more. Everyday was making beats. Bas started rapping at this time.

• Big Sean was at the same studio, Cole was supposed to be on ‘Burn’ with Meek Mill and those 3 even discussed an EP together at one point.

• Cole was experiencing writer’s block. His pen was not on fire, but when it hit it hit hard. Cole says he was burnt out and hadn’t had time to process. Ib knew something was off, he could feel it. He was seeing the comments. This album (‘Born Sinner’) became a “prove it album”

• Cole said he heard ‘Villuminati’ recently and realized a lot of his struggles were coming out in the music but he didn’t know it at the time and he hadn’t done the internal work to realize he was feeling that way.

• Cole talked about feeling really inspired for a short period of time at the end of the Sideline Story tour and this is where a lot of the ‘Truly Yours’ tracks came from. Cole called this a moment of “freedom” and inspiration, juxtaposed against the writer’s block he would face later in LA. Part of this might be the creative freedom he felt in the back of a tour bus vs. being in a studio in LA forcing himself to write.

• They played ‘Can I Holla At Ya’ and Cole got emotional. He focused on the 2nd verse that was about his stepfather that left his family. Cole understands now that his stepfather was doing the best he could and his mom was doing the best she could, and he realizes that he didn’t have that perspective at the time. But the line about his stepdad making his mom crumble got him extra emotional.

• Ib described Cole during this time as two different artists: one that was using music as therapy (the Cole at home in his safe space), and the music would flow naturally and just all around be better, and the other artist being the businessman artist, the one in the studio thinking about how to market his music, how to make a hit and a lot of that was forced. A lot of Born Sinner is this duality. The artist that is doing this sht for the love of the game and the artist doing it for success and the ego. The horn & the halo.

J. Cole Audio Series Episode 7 Highlights - ‘Born Sinner Pt. 1’ (Part 3)

• Cole discussed being in a long term relationship at the time of Born Sinner and so he wrestled with being with this girl he wanted to marry while also blowing up and having the temptations of being famous. This is what ‘Runaway’ is about, and Cole introduced the song talking about an NBA player that he heard about having the same experience as him and listening to ‘Runaway’ and that having an impact on that player.

• Ib said that J. Cole “beat the game” meaning he didn’t fall victim to these vices that tempted him (though he dabbled). This darker side that is prevalent on ‘Born Sinner’ ultimately didn’t win out because Cole in his heart isn’t like that and he was able to pull away from those things to remain true to himself.

• In LA, they made a few tracks there that would end up making the album like ‘LAnd of the Snakes,’ ‘Mo Money’ and a couple ‘Truly Yours songs then they went on the Club Paradise Tour with Drake.

• During this time, Kendrick came by NC and he and Cole cooked up some joints for the collab album that never came out. Cole thinks back fondly on this time, and said that Kendrick was the community that he never had in rap. He loved the game like Cole, worked hard like Cole, and they had similar taste. Cole described it as “your cousin coming over”.

• They played a couple joints from the scrapped collab album and talked about how Kendrick played them some tracks off GKMC before it dropped. Ib calls ‘Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst’ his favorite Kendrick song and Cole says it “blew his mind” when he heard it.

J. Cole Audio Series Episode 7 Highlights - ‘Born Sinner Pt. 1’ (Part 4)

• When GKMC dropped, Cole and Ib were in LA and drove to Best Buy to buy it and listened while they were driving around LA. Cole knew immediately that Kendrick got a classic, and he even thought to himself that Kendrick did exactly what Cole had wanted to do with his first album. “It walked the line perfectly between classic content and commercial appeal.” Cole felt more pressure to execute. “There was a feeling of surpassment.” Cole had a show with Kendrick where Kendrick was after him on the billing (Cole was used to going last) but he didn’t even question it because in this moment he felt like “You have been passed.”

• Cole & Ib talked about getting written off by white institutions (Pitchfork, Grammys, etc). Just felt like it gave them even more work to do.

• Cole was tryna push ‘Miss America’ as the single. He thought it could do well on radio, called up radio people trying to pitch it, and heard “crickets” back. Realized he had to create a demand and build up excitement. Called it a “reality check”

• Cole talked about creating ‘Power Trip’ and how it organically came about (much like Work Out). He was at a crib in NJ (not in the studio, which was important for his creativity) and running through samples when he heard the sample and got the idea. Recorded the vocals in the closet with a sock over the mic Called his inspiration in the moment being “tapped in with God”

• He lacked so much confidence at this time that he didn’t know he “got one.” In the past he would’ve known but this time he wasn’t sure. He knew it subconsciously but was nervous to say it. Ib heard ‘Power Trip’ and instantly knew it was the one. From there, it felt “amazing” cuz they both knew they had “the joint.”

You're GOATed for doing this

J. Cole Audio Series Episode 8 Highlights - ‘Born Sinner Pt. 2’ (Part 1)

• This episode talks about finalizing the ‘Born Sinner’ album, dropping on the same day as Kanye, and Cole’s unhappiness & lack of confidence during this time.

• Cole still felt like radio favored melodic rap and it was hard to “get one” and find another hit. When the concept for ‘Crooked Smile’ came about, he realized this was another opportunity to branch out into that pop-rap lane once again. Spent extra time and love on that song to make it special. ‘Power Trip’ got made and there became this discussion, which one should they drop first? Most on the team were saying ‘Crooked Smile’ bc it was safer, but Ib was riding hard for ‘Power Trip’ bc it was so unique.

• Cole didn’t want Miguel on ‘Power Trip’ and Cole now goes “I am so stupid”. He wanted to sing the hook himself. Mark Pitts suggested Miguel.

• Stuck on Crooked Smile vs. Power Trip, Cole was advised to call Jay up. Hov said to go with the one that is scarier, the less safe one. Ib remarked that this is ironic that Jay was basically telling Cole to do what feels right to him, because this was the guy asking so hard for a single earlier on in Cole’s career. The difference was that Cole was now successful so Ib & Cole agree that Jay probably trusted him more after a commercially successful debut.

• Cole called Power Trip more “pure” than Crooked Smile, because he wasn’t aiming for it to be a single it just flowed through him, so they went with Power Trip.

J. Cole Audio Series Episode 8 Highlights - ‘Born Sinner Pt. 2’ (Part 2)

• Cole dropped ‘Truly Yours’ a day before Power Trip as a safety net in case people didn’t like Power Trip. He knew people would mess with those songs, and he called this a sign of his lack of confidence at this time given that he had to drop songs as a safety net in case people didn’t like Power Trip.

• When Power Trip dropped, Cole remembered a story of Drake and Future hearing it together and being like “oh sht.” Ib says it’s the first real Cole-sounding single.

• Cole admitted that some songs like ‘Kenny Loften’ should’ve been on the album but didn’t make it due to overthinking. Cole described the feeling as being on “overdrive.” Wasn’t satisfied with the album and cranked out hella songs late.

• 2 days after Cole made ‘Let Nas Down’ he & Ib were in the airport. Ib asks him to play it. After, they look over and Nas is right there, boarding the same flight they are. Cole called it a “sign from God” and played him the track on the plane. He didn’t really remember how Nas reacted but they played the song back (during the podcast) and realized how a lot of what Cole was going through showed up on this track.

• Ib & Cole talked about the divisive nature of ‘Let Nas Down’ and remarked how they could see both sides. If you weren’t invested in Cole’s journey, you probably would be like “Who cares that Nas didn’t like Work Out.” However, if you saw how Cole was trying so hard to change the game and bring these more relatable raps to the mainstream, you would be more likely to fw the song because you understand what he was going through. They both say it held up well.

• Cole talked about the making of ‘Cole Summer’ and how he had just decided to retire his mom (she had a few years before she could retire and Cole wanted to retire her early). He wasn’t sure if he could sustain that for years down the line but he wanted to do it so badly that he said fck it and did it. It lit a fire under him but also scared him, and you can hear this in the lyrics of ‘Cole Summer” that she would have to go back to work if he failed.