J. Cole Explains How Kanye West Changed His Life Amid Rumored Beef

J. Cole gave Kanye West credit for inspiring his music. He talked about it in his new audio series Inevitable, released yesterday.

J. Cole on how Kanye’s music changed his life & helped influence his rapping 👀

“My life was hella regular… It was nothing like my favorite rappers, I didn’t know how to talk about MY life. And then, f***ing Kanye West happened.”

“The ‘Through The Wire’ video dropped and that… pic.twitter.com/ptFyZzUKyy

— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) November 19, 2024

"I was an aggressive battle rapper that had bars, and I was a storyteller of fantasy, like 'The Storm,' completely made up scenarios. I had that, but my life was actually hella regular," Cole explained. "I didn’t sell no drugs ... It was nothing like Jay-Z's life, it was nothing like what 'Pac's life appeared to be. There was nothing gangster about it. I didn’t know how to talk about my life in a way that people could connect with and then f*cking Kanye West happened."

He continued. "In the summer of 2003 before I went to college, the 'Through the Wire' video dropped, and that sh*t changed my life ... Kanye was the first time that I saw myself in somebody. He just made it possible to talk about your life or your regular-ass perspective in a way that’s appealing ... This n*gga became my favorite artist at that point. He kinda cracked my mind open."

There's a chance that Cole doesn't like who Kanye is now, though. He dissed him in his 2016 song "False Prophets." He also called him out for sharing a private text exchange with the public. 

Ye has gotten at Cole, too. He demanded an apology for all of the sneak disses as well.