J. Cole Describes How Different Cities in N.C. Embrace Him and Our Preferences in Hip-Hop

This is an important week for J. Cole. The Fayetteville native released his sophomore album, Born Sinner, yesterday and, because there's a lot of hype surrounding it, he's making several public and media appearances in support of it (he was on BET's 106 & Park yesterday). One of his stops included an interview this morning on The Breakfast Club on New York City's Power 105.1 FM.

Because I'm a fan of J. Cole, I've watched most of the interviews he's done recently. And since, interviewers tend to ask many of the same questions, a lot of the content of his interviews aren't new to me. But you can always count on The Breakfast Club to think outside of the box. It was funny (literally) how the show's personalities--Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee, and DJ Envy--began by asking J. Cole about his so-called beef last year with fellow, albeit much younger, rapper Diggy Simmons (Cole took it all in jest). The interview then gets into the typical questions about specific songs on the album, like "Let Nas Down," but also allows Cole to share some anecdotes about his music career and views on hip-hop.

I especially like how (at the 20:14 mark) Charlamagne asks Cole about the reception he gets in the Carolinas, prefacing it with the notion that we aren't really known for creating rap stars. Cole explains that he gets a lot of love in Fayetteville (of course), Greensboro (saying it's one of his strongest markets in the country), Raleigh, and Charlotte. And he says some interesting things about how Charlotte embraces him.

Watch the 27-minute interview below, which concludes with a J. Cole freestyle, proving why he's one of the best lyricists out.