It’s been more than two years since we interviewed J. Cole in Atlanta during our second year at A3C. His star power at the time was merely a glimmer. “Lights Please” was the closest thing he had to a single, but it was buried in a 22-track mixtape that was getting a moderate amount of love from the blogs & very little love from the industry. The hopes for Jay’s apprentice were looking a little Bleek in relation to the expectations that came with being the first artist from RocNation. Regardless, it was obvious he possessed the talent to balance the tightrope between Hip-Hop heads & mainstream fans if he could just find his footing.

After a stint on tour with Rihanna, a Trey Songz-assisted single and a few high profile guest spots, he’s finally at a point where he’s proving fans right. Suddenly, a picture of us talking on my Facebook page is full of girls’ jealous comments, when two years previous the picture had four “likes,” two of which came from TSS staffers. When you watch the Grammys, he’s within spitting distance of Adele and when you go to his Twitter page, you’ll see he’s followed by two million Hip-Hop fans who’ve now heard of the Fayetteville, NC.

I guess it’s safe to say that he “Grew Up Fast.”

J. Cole – “Grew Up Fast”

Cred: J. Cole