J. Cole

**J. Cole** (born **Jermaine Lamarr Cole**; January 28, 1985) is an American rapper, songwriter and and record producer.

## Early life

Cole was born at a United States Army base in Frankfurt, West Germany.  His father is an African American who served in the United States Army. Cole's mother is white. Eight months later, Cole moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he was raised by his mother, aunt and cousin. His father left the family when Cole was still young.

## Discography

Cole began gaining popularity after his first mixtape, _The Come Up_, was released in 2007. In 2009, he was signed to Jay-Z's record label Roc Nation. Cole released two additional mixtapes, _The Warm Up_ in 2009 and _Friday Night Lights_ in 2010.

### Albums and other works

Cole released his first studio album, _Cole World: The Sideline Story_, in 2011. It peaked at number one on the US _Billboard_ 200. His next two albums, _Born Sinner_ (2013) and _2014 Forest Hills Drive_ (2014), also topped the _Billboard_ 200. _2014 Forest Hills Drive_ earned Cole a Best Rap Album nomination at the 2015 Grammy Awards.

His fourth album, _4 Your Eyez Only_ (2016), peaked at number one on the _Billboard_ 200. Cole's other albums, _KOD_ (2018) and _The Off-Season_ (2021), also topped the _Billboard_ 200.

In 2024, Cole released his fourth mixtape, Might Delete Later, which reached number 2 on the _Billboard_ 200.

### As a producer

As a producer, he has worked with famous musicians such as Kendrick Lamar and Janet Jackson.

## Dreamville Records

He founded his own record label Dreamville Records. The label's compilation album _Revenge of the Dreamers III_ (2019) charted at number one on the _Billboard_ 200. It was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards.

## Awards and nominations

Cole has won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song, a _Billboard_ Music Award for Top Rap Album, three Soul Train Music Awards, and eight BET Hip Hop Awards.

### American Music Awards

!
|-
|rowspan=2|2012
|Himself
|New Artist of the Year
|
|rowspan=2|
|-
|_Cole World: The Sideline Story_
|rowspan=2|Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Album
|
|-
|2015
|_2014 Forest Hills Drive_
|
|
|}

### BET Awards

!
|-
|2011
|rowspan=2|Himself
|Best New Artist
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2012
|Best Male Hip Hop Artist
|
|rowspan=2|
|-
|"Party (Remix)" (with Beyoncé)
|Best Collaboration
|
|-
|2014
|rowspan=3|Himself
|rowspan=3|Best Male Hip Hop Artist
|
|
|-
|2016
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2017
|
|rowspan=2|
|-
|_4 Your Eyez Only_
|Album of the Year
|
|-
|2018
|Himself
|Best Male Hip Hop Artist
|
|
|-
|rowspan=4|2019
|Himself
|Best Male Hip Hop Artist
|
|rowspan=4|
|-
|rowspan=2|"A Lot" (with 21 Savage)
|Video of the Year
|
|-
|Best Collaboration
|
|-
|"Middle Child"
|Viewers' Choice Award
|
|-
|rowspan=1|2021
|Himself
|Best Male Hip Hop Artist
|
|rowspan=1|
|-
|}

### BET Hip Hop Awards

!
|-
|2011
|_Friday Night Lights_
|Best Mixtape
|
|
|-
|rowspan="6"|2012
|_Cole World: The Sideline Story_
|CD of the Year
|
|rowspan="6"|
|-
|rowspan="4"|Himself
|MVP of the Year
|
|-
|Producer of the Year
|
|-
|Lyricist of the Year
|
|-
|Best Live Performer
|
|-
|"Nobody's Perfect"
|Reese's Perfect Combo Award (Best collaboration)
|
|-
|rowspan="10"|2013
|_Born Sinner_
|Album of the Year
|
|rowspan="10"|
|-
|rowspan="4"|"Power Trip"
|Best Collabo, Duo or Group
|
|-
|Best Hip-Hop Video
|
|-
|Track of the Year
|
|-
|People's Champ Award
|
|-
|rowspan="4"|Himself
|MVP of the Year
|
|-
|Producer of the Year
|
|-
|Lyricist of the Year
|
|-
|Best Live Performer
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|"Crooked Smile"
|Impact Track
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2014
|Best Hip Hop Video
|
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|rowspan="6"|Himself
|rowspan="2"|Lyricist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan="8"|2015
|
|rowspan="8"|
|-
|MVP of the Year
|
|-
|Producer of the Year
|
|-
|Best Live Performer
|
|-
|Hustler of the Year
|
|-
|_2014 Forest Hills Drive_
|Album of the Year
|
|-
|"Apparently"
|rowspan="3"|Impact Track
|
|-
|"Be Free"
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|2016
|"Love Yourz"
|
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|rowspan="2"|Himself
|Hot Ticket Performer
|
|-
|Lyricist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|2017
|_4 Your Eyez Only_
|Album of the Year
|
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|rowspan="2"|Himself
|Hot Ticket Performer
|
|-
|Lyricist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|2018
|_KOD_
|Album of the Year
|
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|rowspan="4"|Himself
|MVP of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|Lyricist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan="8"|2019
|
|rowspan="8"|
|-
|MVP of the Year
|
|-
|_Revenge of the Dreamers III_
|Album of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan="4"|"A Lot" <small>(with 21 Savage)</small>
|Best Hip Hop Video
|
|-
|Best Collabo, Duo or Group
|
|-
|Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|Impact Track
|
|-
|"Middle Child"
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2020
|Himself
|Lyricist of the Year
|
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|"Snow on tha Bluff"
|Impact Track
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|2021
|rowspan="2"|Himself
|Artist of the Year
|
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|Lyricist of the Year
|
|-
|_The Off-Season_
| Album of the Year
|
|-
|}

### Billboard Music Awards

!
|-
||2014
|_Born Sinner_
|rowspan="2"|Top Rap Album
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2015
|_2014 Forest Hills Drive_
|
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|rowspan="2"|Himself
|rowspan="2"|Top Rap Artist
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2017
|
|rowspan=2|
|-
|_4 Your Eyez Only_
|Top Rap Album
|
|-
|2018
|4 Your Eyez Only World Tour
|rowspan=2|Top Rap Tour
|
|
|-
|2022
|The Off-Season Tour
|
|
|}

### Grammy Awards

|Year|Category|Work|Outcome|Ref.||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2012|Best New Artist|Himself||rowspan="12"||||
|2014|Best Rap/Sung Performance|"Power Trip"||||||
|rowspan="3"|2016|Best Rap Album|_2014 Forest Hills Drive_|||||
|Best Rap Performance|"Apparently"|||||||
|Best R&B Performance|"Planez"|||||||
|rowspan="2"|2019|Best Rap/Sung Performance|"Pretty Little Fears"|||||
|Best R&B Song|"Come Through and Chill"|||||||
|rowspan="5"|2020|rowspan="2"|Best Rap Performance|"Middle Child"||||
|"Down Bad" <small>(with JID, Bas, EarthGang and Young Nudy)</small>||||||||
|Best Rap Song|"A Lot" <small>(with 21 Savage)</small>|||||||
|Best Rap/Sung Performance|"The London" <small>(with Young Thug and Travis Scott)</small>|||||||
|Best Rap Album|_Revenge of the Dreamers III_|||||||
|rowspan="4"|2022|Best Rap Performance|rowspan="2"|"My Life" (featuring 21 Savage and Morray)||rowspan="4"||
|Best Rap Song||||||||
|Best Melodic Rap Performance|"Pride Is the Devil" (featuring Lil Baby)|||||||
|Best Rap Album|_The Off-Season_|||||||

### MTV Europe Music Awards

!
|-
|2018
|Wireless Festival
|Best World Stage
|
|
|-
|2019
|Himself
|Best Hip-Hop
|
|
|}

### MTV Video Music Awards

!
|-
|2013
|"Power Trip"
|Best Hip Hop
|
|
|-
|2014
|"Crooked Smile"
|Best Video with a Social Message
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2018
|rowspan="2"|"ATM (Addicted to Money)"
|Best Art Direction
|
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|rowspan="2"| Best Hip Hop
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|2019
|rowspan="2"|"A Lot" <small>(with 21 Savage)</small>
|
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|Video of the Year
|
|-
|"The London" <small>(with Travis Scott and Young Thug)</small>
|Song of the Summer
|
|-
|}

### MTVU Woodie Awards

!
|-
|2012
|Himself
|Woodie of the Year: Series of Popular Mixtapes
|
|
|}

### NAACP Image Awards

!
|-
|rowspan="3"|2016
|rowspan="3"|"No Sleeep" (with Janet Jackson)
|Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration
|
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|Outstanding Music Video
|
|-
|Outstanding Song, Contemporary
|
|-
|rowspan="1"|2020
|"Shea Butter Baby" (with Ari Lennox)
| Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration
|
|rowspan="1"|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2022
|Himself
|Outstanding Male Artist
|
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|"My Life" (with 21 Savage)
|Outstanding Hip Hop/Rap Song
|
|}

### Soul Train Music Awards

!
|-
|2012
|Himself
|Best New Artist
|
|
|-
|rowspan=3|2013
|rowspan=2"|Power Trip" featuring Miguel
|Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year
|
|rowspan=3|
|-
|Best Collaboration
|
|-
|"Crooked Smile" featuring TLC
|The Ashford and Simpson Songwriter's Award
|
|-
|2015
|"Apparently"
|The Ashford and Simpson Songwriter's Award
|
|
|-
|rowspan=4|2019
| "A Lot" (with 21 Savage)
|rowspan=2|Best Hip-Hop Song Of The Year
|
|rowspan=4|
|-
|"Middle Child"
|
|-
| "Shea Butter Baby" (with Ari Lennox)
|rowspan=2|Best Collaboration Performance
|
|-
| "Purple Emoji" (with Ty Dolla Sign)
|
|}

## Other websites

- J. Cole  on MTV.com
- Basketball Africa League profile

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **embed**: yes
- **origin**: Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.
- **past member of**: Lupe Fiasco #All City Chess Club, All City Chess Club


## Infobox (person)

- **name**: J. Cole
- **image**: J. Cole in 2023.png
- **caption**: Cole performing in 2023
- **birth name**: Jermaine Lamarr Cole
- **birth place**: Frankfurt, West Germany
- **nationality**: American
- **alma mater**: St. John's University (New York City), St. Johns University (Bachelor of Science, BS)
- **years active**: 2007–present
- **organization**: Dreamville Ventures
- **children**: 2
- **awards**: #Awards and nominations, Full list