Only two studio albums in, rapper and producer J. Cole has found fame that some work their whole lives for. His 2009 mixtape, The Warm Up, caught the attention of Jay Z, who signed him to his Roc Nation label. Cole’s 2011 debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, came in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. His sophomore album, Born Sinner, also a No. 1, was released last year, cementing his reputation as one of hip-hop’s brightest stars. Cole celebrates his successes and Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 24, at Rehab at Hard Rock Hotel. Las Vegas Magazine’s Kiko Miyasato spoke with Cole ahead of his poolside performance.
How have you handled your rapid ascent in popularity and your many musical successes so far?
The good thing is, I surround myself with people that I’ve known for a very long time. I’m doing business with people that I’ve known from middle school, high school or college. These are some of my best friends; I’ve always chosen friends well. So it makes it hard to change for the worst, you know what I mean? I’m definitely changing—we all are changing—but I think when you keep real friends around you, it makes it very hard to change for the worst (or) get too far off the path.
What have you learned about the music industry from your first album to your second and moving forward?
I’m learning all the time, discovering all the time. It’s more so about myself—what it takes to stay in tune with creativity, to stay inspired, to stay motivated. It’s very easy to fall into the trappings of success. You can fall into believing your own hype, believing you’re some type of figure—but you’re really just the same person that you were before you got into the business. ... You learn a lot about yourself.
Are you bringing something to the genre of hip-hop that you felt was lacking or missing and that it needed to get back?
For sure. Storytelling ... lyricism and the passion of the art of rapping was not around for a long time in the 2000s. The storytelling aspect—that was the school that I was coming from, that I was studying. I’ve been blessed to be young enough to be a part of the current generation that was raised on people like Lil Wayne, but I’m also old enough to not be raised on Lil Wayne. I’m old enough to have been raised on Nas, Jay, ’Pac, Biggie, Big Pun—so there’s a level of lyricism and storytelling that is sacred to me, and that’s what I feel like I’ve brought back.
Are you looking forward to performing on Memorial Day weekend? What’s your view on Vegas pool parties?
Vegas is always a ball. People want to come to Vegas and have a good time, they want to party, they want to have fun. ... I have a few singles that make people feel good. … Me and my friends talk about it like, “Man, we’re not even going to Vegas to perform, man, we’re going to Rehab! We’re going to party.” If I knew about this back in the day, before I became a rapper, I would have found a way to pay for the flight and would be in Vegas all the time, every Memorial Day, every pool party.
Hard Rock Hotel, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat.-Sun., cover charge applies. 702.693.5555
