Where Did J. Cole Grow Up?

J.Cole is a popular rapper and singer, having been established in the industry since 2007, but where did he grow up?

J. Cole – otherwise known as Jermaine Lamarr Cole – was born in Frankfurt, West Germany, in 1985. However, he would relocate with his mother and brother at the age of eight months, growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina. 

Read on to learn more about J. Cole’s early life and upbringing.

Way Before the Music

Jermaine Lamarr Cole – whose performing name is J. Cole – was born in Frankfurt, West Germany. The reasoning behind this lay with his father, who was in the United States military at the time. 

Cole was born on a military base near the city, and lived there for a very short period of time with his parents and older brother. However, his father abandoned the family when Cole was just a babe in arms. Following that, Cole’s mother, Kay, took her two children and relocated to the United States.

The vast bulk of J. Cole’s upbringing would occur in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In an article, Cole explained that they lived in a series of locations, from trailers to small apartments. They bounced from place to place across Fayetteville as he and his brother grew up.

Reportedly, in 2015, Cole explained about Fayetteville: “In the state of North Carolina we’re looked at as the worst city, the most crime-ridden city.” He went on to detail the reputation that the city and its residents had gathered. 

However, it wouldn’t always be a struggle. When Cole was around eleven years of age, his mother remarried and they relocated to a ‘nicer’ neighborhood. Although money was still fairly tight, they had a fairly decent house that they all lived in together.

It was in this house that Cole gravitated towards music. His stepdad was a rap fan, something that influenced Cole’s own musical choices. He would “shut the door and enjoy the privacy to listen to music”. 

It seemed that this house had a massive impact on Cole’s life in general. After he’d found success in the music industry, he returned to purchase the house, years later. It had been lost to foreclosure many years prior, and Cole felt as though he was rescuing the house once again.

There’s a video on YouTube, revealing an interview Cole had on a radio show. In this interview, he talks about ‘retiring’ his mother, after decades of hard work. She’d spent the majority of his childhood a single mother, and he wanted to give something back. You can see this video below.

Finding His Feet

As early as the age of twelve, J. Cole began to experiment with rap music. At the age of around fifteen, he started to see the potential in pursuing music as a career. He began learning production skills, determining how best to break into the industry.

He was very academic and intelligent as a teenager, graduating with a 4.2 GPA. He relocated to New York City upon graduation, and attended St. John’s University. He studied hard, initially in computing, before transitioning to business and communications. 

In 2007, Cole graduated university magna cum laude. Bizarrely, he wouldn’t receive his degree for many years. In 2015, he was awarded his certification, the reason for the delay being a late return fee for a library book years prior. 

Cole would go on to release his first mixtapes fairly early on in life. He gravitated towards Jay-Z, with dreams of being signed by the musical genius. This would pay off, and in 2009, Cole would be signed to Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s label. Coincidentally, he was the first artist signed to the label.

By 2020, J. Cole was a huge success. He’d released six studio albums and headlined eight tours. He was highly awarded, boasted a list of accolades, and had collaborated with some top talent. 

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