S. Samuel
Roc Nation rapper J. Cole's Cole World: The Sideline Story is set to do big numbers for hip-hop mogul Jay-Z's label with first-week projections up to 250,000 sold copies.
Based on one day estimates, Cole’s long-awaited debut will easily debut atop the music chart next week.
The German-born rapper J. Cole, who grew up inFayetteville, NC, then went to school on a scholarship to St. John’s in Queens before getting discovered by Jay-Z, who made him the first signing to his Roc Nation label through Columbia, debuts at #1 with Cole World: The Sideline Story. The album, which features collaborations with his mentor, as well as Trey Songz, Drake and Missy Elliott, has surpassed even label expectations with prospects of a sales total approaching 225-250k its first week. (HITS Daily Double)
Earlier this week, Cole talked about what he hoped fans gained from the debut.
“I want them to see the growth. You’ll see that you get flashes of the mixtapes–The Warm Up, Friday Night Lights. But then you also got spots where you’re like, “Oh, my God. What the f*ck is this?” I didn’t plan on being a mixtape artist my entire life. Of course, I want them to soak up the stories and the songs, but if there’s one thing I want them to get from it, it’s that, “Yo, this n*gga’s not f*ckin’ around. He’s not settling for that status.” (XXL Mag)
A few days ago, Cole was shocked when a fan showed him a premature released copy of his Roc Nation debut during a concert.
“I don’t know how the f*ck they got this sh*t, but this sh*t is real my n*gga,” Cole told a crowd of fans during a Scottsdale, Arizona show. “This sh*t is incredible for me to see right now. This a n*gga album. I don’t even have this, n*gga. I don’t know how you got this.” (Miss Dimplez)
According to reports, the album was accidentally released ahead of schedule to some retail outlets.
After all the blood, sweat, and tears he put into making his album, imagine J. Cole’s surprise when a fan handed him a copy of the physical CD before he had even seen it. The Roc Nation rapper was performing in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Wednesday night when someone in the audience held up a copy of his debut Cole World: The Sideline Story, nearly a week before its release. Apparently some Target stores had prematurely put the album on shelves. (Rap-Up)
Check out a recent J. Cole interview below:
