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J. Cole had plenty to say when he sat down with Angie Martinez for a 90-minute interview.
During their conversation, he admitted to a past drinking problem, shot down those rumors about doing a joint album with Kendrick Lamar and revealed that he talked to Kanye West around the time Ye said that slavery was a choice.
Earlier this month, West posted a screenshot of that conversation he had with Cole, which Cole said bothered him and caught him off guard.
“Nah, he called me, but I would’ve never posted that or tell him to post that,” he stated. “That made me feel a certain type of way. I told him that. He apologized, for the record. I told him that it felt like you just used my name in that very quick conversation for social media and to keep your thing going or whatever you were doing. It felt like it wasn’t sincere because of that.”
Cole then said that he felt uncomfortable talking about West and the conversation they had, because he doesn’t want his words to be turned into a headline or a major news story. But he did reaveal that the “Life of Pablo” rapper asked him to challenge his opinions whenever necessary.
Plus, Cole talked to Martinez about his 2016 song “False Prophets” where he criticized West, and he said the song wasn’t entirely about him.
“I need you to hold me accountable. Keep me in check. Say whatever you gotta say. I need that. I feed off that,” Cole said West told him. “So I’m like, ‘Are you sure?’ Cause I see this a certain way.”
“First of all, I’m a fan,” he continued. “That’s really all I am. I don’t know you … And when I’m writing ‘False Prophets’ — which that song isn’t about him — there’s one verse that applies to him, for sure, but if you listen to that song it’s about what this sh– is exposing … Where it’s like celebrity worship, we’re worshiping celebrities.”
Elsewhere during the chat, Cole went into his past and current struggles with alcohol and said he still feels a heavy urge to indulge at times. He admitted to having a strong social media fixation as well, one that he’s desperately trying to overcome.
“With social media, I was off it so long that I thought I had beat this addiction.” he explained.
“Then I got back on it and I realized, ‘Oh nah, you just took a break.’ I didn’t face it head on…I’m dealing with it right now…I feel like with social media, it’s like, what’s this pull? Why do I keep checking this sh– every five minutes? Just being conscious that there’s an urge to be on my phone. I don’t like something pulling my strings. I want to be in charge of my own decisions…I feel like I’m allowing other people’s thoughts to be my own. I feel like I’m diving into other peoples’ business,” added Cole.
You can listen to the full interview below.
