Taking advantage of the age of the Internet, J. Cole participated in an AMA (ask me anything) with his fans via Reddit.com, a social news website and forum where its users create and promote the stories. He touched on topics from the reason why he chose to drop Born Sinner the same day as Kanye West’s Yeezus, how he ended up on Dave Chappelle’s 2005 documentary Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, why he created a website stream before the album came out, and many more. Here are 10 things we learned from J. Cole’s AMA.— Raven Irabor

He Didn’t Want His Fans To Feel Bad For Listening Early

Question: J. Cole first off I loved Born Sinner! My question is why did you create the website stream for the album before it even came out?

Answer: So fans didn’t feel bad for listening early.

He Is An Eric Clapton Fan

Question: What is one musician you love that most people would not expect you to listen to?

Answer: Eric Clapton.

He Wanted To Sell His Mixtape Friday Night Lights



Question: If there was one thing you could’ve done differently music-wise, what would it have been?

Answer: Sell Friday Night Lights.

“Runaway” Is One Of His Favorite Tracks off of Born Sinner



Question: Can you speak on your favorite track on Born Sinner?

Answer: Favorite song is too hard to decide. But I will say “Runaway” is definitely in the running. The verses!

He Gets Into His Zone With Drum Patterns And Sounds In His Production Process

Question: Can you speak on your production process you took on Born Sinner?

Answer: Production process is an easier question to answer for me. I just let it FLOW. Normally I start out by finding drum sounds and patterns that make me move. for instance, Runaway started by flipping a real dirty drum loop, then adding a harder kick on top. Once i get drums that Move me and excite me, I look to add music (samples or something i'm playing) that make the marriage complete.

Born Sinner plays with a lot of Double time tempo's. Shit like power trip, that moves your head as if it's fast paced. but in reality, its technically a SLOW beat. The breakdown on LAnd of the Snakes another example. Or rich niggaz.

He Appeared On Dave Chappelle’s 2005 documentary Dave Chappelle’s Block Party

Question: Is there a story behind you showing up at the Roots/Chappelle concert? Also now that you are where you are why hasn't there been a J.Cole/Roots colab?

Answer: YEA. Sophomore year of college. Long story short (aka this is gonna be long) I heard about this secret Dave Chapelle concert, you had to register and sign up online to go. The Roots, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Mos Def, Kweli, Kanye, Dead Prez.They sent me confirmation back and it was on. Took my homeboy and roommate with me. BUT. Woke up that morning at 6 am to leave, and it was POURING. Some Hurricane level shit. We looked at each other like, "damn dawg, we really gonna do this?"Said fuck it and got dressed. Had to walk to the bus stop in the rain, then wait on the bus in the rain. Now we're Soaked. Hopped off the bus, hopped on the train. Took the train to the bottom of Manhattan to the secret "Meet Up" point. Some random Grocery store by the Water. We were the first ones there. People showed up over the next couple of hours. Then finally, they put us all on these yellow school buses to take us to the real secret concert location. A random block in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. Best show I ever been to in my life. Fugees reunited on stage, Lauryn Hill was incredible. Plus the line up was crazy. I was just a fan of this shit still am. Then you could see me on the movie, everybody was hitting me from back home like "YOOO HOW THE FUCK YOU GET IN THIS MOVIE?? I'M IN THE THEATRE NOW I SWEAR I JUST SEEN YOU." Too long? Whoops

His Fans Are Able To Appreciate Emotions and Stories

Question: What is it that you think makes your fans so special, you know, the ones that were counting down the months ‘til friday night lights and shitttt?

Answer: What makes my fans special is that in order to be a fan of mine, you have to really appreciate Emotion and stories and insight and thinking a little more. Of course I'll always have some fun shit to balance it out, but the songs that hit home are the ones that make you think and say "damnn.."

His Joint Album With Kendrick Lamar Is Still Coming

Question: One thing that I think everyone here wants to ask: Can you tell us anything new about your upcoming album with Kendrick Lamar? I really love Born Sinner by the way, can't wait to see where you go next, but I want to emphasize how good what you're doing right now is. And thanks for doing this AMA!

Answer: Thank you. This question will be asked a lot so I'll just answer it here. We have some really good songs in the stash, but haven't had a chance to properly work on a project. An album will come in the future, but probably not this year. I'm just happy for my niggaaa

Confidence Is The Reason Born Sinner Dropped The Same Day As Yeezus

Question:Why did you try and compete with Kanye on the 18th? Wouldn't it make more sense to have your album release on a day with less competition?

Answer:Just followed my instincts. I was confident in the album I had. Didn't know what he had, but didn't care. Wanted to start the conversation. I've had a #1 album before. It's cool. But I wouldn't have been able to live with myself wondering "what if I would have moved my date?"

Losing His balance Was Something He Struggled With In His Rap Career

Question: What has been the hardest part of your rapping career so far?

Answer: Hardest part of my rap career so far was finding the balance. How to become a mainstream artist without losing myself. Took a lot of experimenting, trying things, sometimes failing. But I found it.