J. Cole

I had a lot of resistance, and not just to fame. I was always conscious of not changing.

I've always been an underdog. I feel like I beat the odds.

Sometimes I try a Mai Tai. It's so fruity. It's a little embarrassing, but I like it.

I was a class clown. At 12, I was definitely clowning. I was making all the jokes. But I was smart, so the teachers didn't know what to do with me.

Producing all my own songs and refusing to go to the hot producer. That's the biggest risk I've taken so far.

The thing about being an artist today is you get to develop right in front of people's eyes before you even put out an album.

I pay attention to lyrics and I know what rap fans care about. I try to write for the average listener and I'm conscious of the mainstream without selling out.

I kinda like the idea of having an album that's all me.

Rhyme patterns are nothing without meanings to the words. A lot of rappers can do those flows, but the raps aren't really about anything - which is cool sometimes, but to have the flow and the message is one of my favorite things.

I now possess the tools as a producer and a songwriter to really just go out and make smashes all day long. I could make an album full of smash records that got pop appeal. But my heart is in hip-hop. My heart is in telling stories. And it's like therapy for me.

In hip-hop, there's not a lot of love. There's not a lot of love being spread. It's always like 'I'm stuntin' on you raps, or I'm better than you raps.' It's not a lot of 'Yo man, I idolize you raps.'

I think if I did something in the pop world right now, it would be for Rihanna. I'd love to do something production wise for her.