1. His Grandfather Led Him to Record His First Song

Longtime J. Cole super fans will remember that the first song he ever recorded was called “The Storm.” But what they probably don’t know is the pivotal role his grandfather played in the creation of the song.

“I do remember writing my first full song, which was ‘The Storm,’” Cole recalled as he explained how his mother had been given a mix CD by her father, who was a DJ.

“He was sending my mom mix CDs that he would make … we were riding, and this song comes on and it was this piano line… I took the CD, ran to my beat machine and I made the beat,” he said. “But I knew I wanted to make a song, so I sat in the same spot and for the first time in my life, with an insane focus that I had probably never experienced before in my life, I wrote three verses.”

This culminated in “The Storm,” a track often associated with Cole’s time under the alias “The Therapist,” before he took on the rap name most commonly known today.

2. “School Daze” Was J. Cole’s Personal Breakthrough Song

After sharing how Kanye West’s “Through The Wire” inspired him to tell his own story as an MC (ironic considering the beat for “School Daze” is a Kanye West instrumental), he explained that he “found his lane” through “School Daze.”

“‘School Daze’ was the first that I could really play for my ni**as and play for anybody, and they’re gonna be like, ‘Damn,’” Cole said.

“This and ‘Wet Dreamz’ are two songs where I knew ahead of time, where I was like, ‘Ah!’” Cole said, adding, “Here’s something that I have that separates me.”

3. J. Cole wrote His 2014 Single “Wet Dreamz” When He Was in College 

Despite having written the song all the way back then, as we all know, “Wet Dreamz” wouldn’t have a proper release until 2014, when Cole released his third album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. And he didn’t use the same beat, either.

“I wrote ‘Wet Dreamz’ to a [J] Dilla instrumental,” Cole revealed, adding that the song was made during the same era as “School Daze” when he was in college.

4. A Random Industry Connection Got Him His First Studio Session

While in New York, Cole ended up befriending Mike Rooney, the nephew to Cory Rooney, an acclaimed producer who worked with Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey and others.

Turns out that Cory was already aware of Cole thanks to “School Daze,” culminating in him helping the rapper have his first studio session.

“He started getting me into Romeo Studios in Manhattan,” the MC recalled, adding, “It was the first time I had been in a studio session for me, and I had time to f**king play something in the speaker and f**king come in and record my s**t.”

As for the songs he remembers recording there? “Lil Ghetto Ni**a” and “Split You Up.”

5. Ibrahim inspired Cole to release what became The Come Up mixtape

Although Cole thought mixtapes were “corny” around the time he ended up releasing The Come Up, Ibrahim played a significant role in making him think seriously about a mixtape release.

“Mixtapes were getting watered down because everybody had one,” Cole said, reflecting on the late 2000s when so many mixtapes were being released. “I was genuinely like, ‘Bro, I’m not doing no f**king mixtape.”

Then came Ibrahim in as the voice of reason.

“Ib was the first person in my life to challenge it and be like, ‘Yo, but if nobody knows about you, how are you gonna get signed?’” Cole recalled. After dropping his first mixtape, The Come Up, in 2007, Cole was signed to Jay-Z’s Roc-Nation label in 2009.