{"id":117512,"date":"2017-04-15T16:55:59","date_gmt":"2017-04-15T14:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blackouthiphop.com\/?p=117512"},"modified":"2017-04-15T16:55:59","modified_gmt":"2017-04-15T14:55:59","slug":"j-coles-exclusive-interview-for-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/j-coles-exclusive-interview-for-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"J. Cole’s Exclusive Interview for New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ask J. Cole about when he realized that the traditional life of a platinum rap star didn\u2019t suit him and he\u2019ll tell the story of the 2013 BET Awards, when a stylist dressed him in a loud Versace sweater that two other people ended up wearing on the red carpet. He\u2019ll talk about meetings with label executives and personal heroes who encouraged him to make musical decisions that, deep down, he never felt comfortable with. He\u2019ll recall an awakening to the potency of the love of the woman he\u2019d been with for years. And he\u2019ll remember his trip in the wake of the killing of Michael Brown to Ferguson, Mo., where the most valuable thing he found he could do was just to listen.<\/p>\n

And so, a couple of years ago, after he\u2019d released two platinum albums, he began to make changes. A move back down to this part of the country, not far from where he grew up, in Fayetteville. Meditation every day, or as often as he could manage. Marriage. A commitment to asking about the needs of others rather than only his own. And a decision to make music that spoke to his own creative and emotional idiosyncrasies, no matter how far it strayed from that of his hip-hop superstar generational peers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the full article and interview via NY Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ask J. Cole about when he realized that the traditional life of a platinum rap…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t