J. Cole has reminded fans that despite bowing out of the ongoing feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, he is still very much a part of Hip Hop’s “Big Three.” This month, the North Carolina native invited followers to take a trip down memory lane as he and a few others, who have played integral roles in his musical journey, give a glimpse into how his successful career came to be.
Season one of his limited audio series “Inevitable” premiered on Nov. 18, a precursor of sorts to Cole’s mixtapes finally landing on DSPs and just in time for the 10-year anniversary of his album 2014 Forest Hills Drive. On Friday (Nov. 29), the newest episode, “Sideline Story,” revealed that despite having built up some buzz with his unofficial projects, The Come Up and The Warm Up, he still had not drummed up enough anticipation for his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story.
At the time, he was signed to JAY-Z under Roc Nation. Per Cole and his manager Ibrahim “IB” Hamad, the mogul made it known that his contemporary needed a big record at a 2011 “Two Kings” Dinner. The gathering was hosted by Jay and LeBron James during All-Star weekend. Among those in attendance was Drake.
“We having a conversation. Me, Cole, Drake, Future [The Prince]. I don’t know who else, but there were a couple more people. So then Jay walks in and he sees all of us together. He goes, ‘Yo!’ and he looks at Drake and he says, ‘Yo, give the boy one,’ points at Cole like basically ‘give him a hit,’” said Hamad, adding, “I even remember Future’s face being like, that’s embarrassing.”
Cole quipped that Jay was “looking at Drake and pointing at me and going, ‘Give him a hit, give my boy a hit,’ basically.” Hamad noted that it was obvious the rising artist was agitated by being put on blast. “I’m just looking at Cole, and he looks pissed,” he said. The Brooklyn rap juggernaut and Dreamville founder ultimately ended up talking about the proposition. In the end, Cole secured a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Work Out,” which became one of the biggest and most popular tracks from his freshman effort.
“Inevitable” is described as Cole taking “listeners on an unfiltered voyage through his life, career, and personal evolution, using both released and unreleased music to guide the story. Through conversation with Ibrahim Hamad and Scott Lazer, Season 1 finds Cole recounting his journey from his early days as a young, aspiring rapper to finally seeing his dreams become a reality, despite the many hurdles and pitfalls he faces along the way.”
The three remaining episodes of the audio series will be released on Dec. 2, 5, 9 and 12.