No I.D. is as prolific as he is successful. Saba claimed that the legendary producer sent him one hundred and twenty beats to choose from for Something to Come. In all, No I.D. has over two hundred and seventy three songs to his name, an impressive catalogue which he sold to Hipgnosis Sounds for quite a price.
But even a super producer like I.D. has a hard time impressing J. Cole. In a new interview on RapCaviar Podcast, the "Run This Town" producer detailed just how picky Cole is when it comes to choosing beats.
Apparently, the Dreamville head has passed on so many instrumentals from I.D. that it's become something of a joke between the two. "I used to have a running joke with J. Cole like, 'Yo, I gotta do a session with you so I can do a beat that you’re not going to use, that I can get off,'" I.D. said, laughing.
The list of beats Cole has turned down from the producer is long and impressive. According to I.D., the "No Role Modelz" rapper said no to the beats for Rick Ross' "Tears of Joy," Big Sean's "Control" and "My Last," and Nas' "Stay." Apparently, all of these instrumentals were presented to him in just a two-week timespan in the studio.
Needless to say, all these beats did just fine in the hands they eventually ended up in. "Stay" appeared on Nas' hit project Life Is Good, and "Tears of Joy" was on Ross' Teflon Don. "Control" went down in hip hop history after Kendrick Lamar called out a long list of his peers— including J. Cole— in his guest verse. Big Sean's "My Last," meanwhile, topped Billboard's Hot Rap Songs and peaked at No. 30 on the Hot 100.
Nonetheless, Cole wasn't impressed. Recalls No I.D.: "It was just like, 'Nah, that ain't it."
[via]