Set your DVR’s people. HBO is getting ready to roll out their second J. Cole documentary Saturday night (4/15) called “J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only,” which will serve as an hourlong special that combines music videos & documentary footage of Mr. Cole’s travels to various cities in U.S. to show the underlying concerns and struggles in their communities.
Before it arrives tomorrow night at 10PM EST, Jermaine sat down with NY Times for a rare exclusive interview, where he talked about the current social & political climates, internal struggles, how getting married & having a child affected his music, growth as a rapper, & whole lot more.
Addressing Saturday night’s HBO special, NY Times described the documentary as the following… "The way Mr. Cole presents in his HBO special, which he directed with Scott Lazer, is primarily as observer, not actor. He returns to Jonesboro, Ark., where his father is from, and the two men visit a community center that serves as a makeshift museum of local black history. In another scene, in Ferguson, Mr. Cole watches as two men argue about government obstacles to black progress. Throughout the show, apart from when he’s rapping, Mr. Cole’s voice is barely heard, but his eyes are taking it all in."
Jermaine also talked about his growth as an artist, and bettering his craft. “For so long my mind state was, I have to show how much better than the next man I am through these bars. Who’s the best? Let me prove it. And it’s just like, damn, I’m really feeding into a cycle of keeping black people down, I’m really feeding into that.”
“I felt like it would be mad powerful for black people to see black people talking to each other. And you see a rapper who’s considered one of the biggest in the game, just listening.”
Lastly, before wrapping things up, Cole talked about the police raid that went down at his home last March, saying he wrote "6 songs in that following weekend," including one of the standouts from his album "Neighbors."
If you got some time, suggest reading the full interview over at NY Times right here. Great & interesting read. Look for HBO special to air tomorrow at 10pm EST, peep trailer (below).