J Cole is taking stock of his career and his place in the rap game. The Dreamville founder recently launched the podcast Inevitable . It will give Cole the chance to talk about the making of his most iconic songs, as well as build anticipation for his final album, The Fall Off .
Naturally, the rapper kicked things off by discussing his debut mixtape, The Warm Up, Vol. 1 . It was during the discussion of this tape that Cole decided to wax poetic on the importance of Kanye West .
An artist who has mocked him repeatedly in the last eight months. Kanye West's influence on J Cole has never been a secret. The latter rapped on three West beats for The Warm Up, Vol.
1 . Cole also used Ye's classic "Last Call" as the template for his 2009 mixtape, The Warm Up , as well as his 2014 album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive . J Cole is, and always will be, a son of Kanye West, and he said as much during the first episode of Inevitable .
"He became my favorite artist," Cole recalled. "He kinda cracked my mind open. Kanye was the first time I saw myself in somebody.
" J Cole went on to praise West for expanding the parameters for what a hip hop song could. Read More: Barack Obama Has Some Hot Takes About "The Big Three" "He just made it possible to talk about your life or regular perspectives in a way that’s appealing," J Cole added. "I didn't know how to talk about my life.
And then, f**king Kanye West happened." It was touching to hear the Dreamville honcho reflect on such a formative moment in h.
