J. Cole, whose real name is Jermaine Lamarr Cole, is an American rapper and record producer.
He was born on January 28, 1985, on a military base in Frankfurt, West Germany, to a veteran father and postal-worker mother.
He was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
J. Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his debut mixtape, The Come Up, per The Vogue.
He has since achieved phenomenal success over the last few years, touring worldwide, selling huge amounts of records, producing for Kendrick Lamar, and even coming to the attention of Barack Obama.
Since 2007, J. Cole has owned Dreamville Records alongside his manager, Ibrahim Hamad.
J Cole early life
J. Cole was born on January 28, 1985, at an American military base in Frankfurt, West Germany.
His father is an African American veteran who served in the U.S. Army, and his mother, Kay, born in Michigan, is a European American who was a postal worker for the United States Postal Service.
J. Cole’s father later abandoned the family during his youth.
He fell into rapping at the age of 12 when his cousin from Louisiana spent the summer in Fayetteville, showing him the basics of rhyming:
From there, he delved deep into the music of hip hop luminaries including Tupac Shakur, Nas and OutKast, taking from them a love for telling stories with an unbridled rigor.
Seizing every opportunity to write, at age 15 J. Cole found himself with composition notebooks full of rhymes but no beats of his own to lay them on.
After graduating from high school, J. Cole moved to New York and attended St. John’s University, graduating magna cum laude in 2007 with a degree in communications.
J. Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his debut mixtape, The Come Up, in early 2007.
He had multiple part-time jobs as a teenager while he sharpened his production skills, including a stint at an ice hockey rink where he had to dress up as a kangaroo mascot.
After graduating from college, J. Cole started to appear as a guest on tracks by other artists.
In 2009, he was discovered by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, and it took him three years to complete his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, which debuted at No. 1.
How old is J. Cole?
J. Cole was born on January 28, 1985, in Frankfurt, West Germany, making him 38 years old as of September 2023.
J. Cole height
The rapper stands at around 6 feet 3 inches tall, and weighs about 84 Kgs.
Where is J. Cole from?
J. Cole is from Fayetteville, North Carolina, in the United States.
He was born in 1985, and spent most of his childhood in Fayetteville before attending college in New York City.
J. Cole has often referenced his hometown in his music and has been known to give back to the community through charitable donations and initiatives.
J. Cole real name
The rapper’s real name is Jermaine Lamarr Cole.
He was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to a European American mother and an African American father who was a U.S. Army veteran.
J. Cole grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and began rapping at a young age.
He later attended St. John’s University in New York City, where he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in communication and business.
J. Cole is known for his introspective lyrics, socially conscious themes, and versatile flow, and has become one of the most successful and respected rappers of his generation.
J. Cole wife
J. Cole has been married to Melissa Heholt since 2015.
Heholt is a businesswoman and the founder of the Dreamville Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides educational opportunities and resources to underprivileged youth.
She graduated from St. John’s University with a degree in health administration and worked in event planning before starting the foundation.
J. Cole and Heholt met while they were both attending St. John’s University in Queens, New York.
They began dating in 2003 and have been together ever since.
Despite J. Cole’s fame and success, the couple has kept their relationship relatively private, rarely appearing together in public or on social media.
In 2015, J. Cole revealed in an interview with the Combat Jack Show that he and Heholt had gotten married in a private ceremony.
He described her as his “queen” and credited her with helping him stay grounded and focused on his music.
Since their marriage, J. Cole and Heholt have welcomed two children together.
J. Cole kids
J. Cole has two children, a son and a daughter, with Heholt.
Their son was born in 2016, and their daughter was born in 2019.
J. Cole has mentioned his children in some of his songs, including She’s Mine, Pt. 1 and She’s Mine, Pt. 2, which are dedicated to his daughter.
In She’s Mine, Pt. 1, J. Cole raps about the joy of becoming a father and the responsibility that comes with it.
He talks about how his daughter has changed his life and made him a better person.
In She’s Mine, Pt. 2, he reflects on the challenges of being a parent and the fear of not being able to protect his children from the harsh realities of the world.
J. Cole has also mentioned his son in some of his songs, including The Cut Off and Friends.
In The Cut Off, he talks about how his son has inspired him to work harder and be a better role model.
In Friends, he reflects on the importance of family and how his son has taught him to appreciate the simple things in life.
