J. Cole Recalls Past Hesitance to Work With 'Top Dogs' in Production

J. Cole didn’t want to rely on top-charting producers to push him to commercial success in his early career.

During a sit-down with music executive Mark Pitts and GQ’s Frazier Tharpe, the two-time Grammy winner recalled his past reluctance to work with hitmakers upon signing to Roc Nation in the late 2000s. The North Carolina native released his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, in 2011.

“Roc Nation was new at the time. I'm walking in pure, meaning, I have no understanding of the industry,” the Fall-Off rapper said around the seven-minute mark of the video below. “And I'm not even really trying to. I'm just trying to figure it out on my own. So there were certain moves that I wasn't trying to do, specifically with the producers.”

Cole hypothesized that Roc Nation founder Jay-Z wanted him to make “hit records,” while Pitts, Cole’s early mentor, sought producers who wouldn’t be “egregious.”

“[Mark] knew I needed to grow, but he knew that throwing me in with whoever the top dogs at the time was might've been too quick, so his first move was, like, ‘Yo, let me put you with Salaam [Remi],’” Cole continued.

“Looking back, I'm, like, Why would you say that? What is Rich going to do? It's literally his job to leave that conversation, pick up the phone, and tell Jay, ‘Do you know what Cole said?’” he continued.

“What you think Jay’s going to do? Jay gonna hit his man who brought Cole to him. I wasn't there, but [Mark], I'm sure Jay probably hit you with, ‘Yo, you know what the fuck your man said? He don't want no hit records. What are we doing this for?’ And then Mark [intervenes]... he knows my heart and he knows how I see myself.”

While Cole has produced records for himself and the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Wale and others, big names who’ve since contributed production to his work include T-Minus, The Alchemist, Boi-1da and more.