J. Cole made a surprise move yesterday when he announced that will be releasing his new album Born Sinner a week early on June 18th, the same day Kanye drops his next album Yeezus. Speaking with Billboard, Jermaine confirms that he knew about ‘Ye’s release date and that inspired him to push his album up to compete with him as he feels confident about his work.
“Instantly the lightbulb [turned on]… it got real. I made one phone call to somebody that would know, just to make sure first. As soon as I got it confirmed, I was like, ‘Yo…’ The idea hit me instantly: ‘You got to go to that date. I’m not going to sit [here]… I worked too hard to come a week later after Kanye West drops an amazing album. It’d be like, ‘Oh and J.Cole dropped too, a week later.’ Nah. I’m going to go see him on that date. He’s the greatest. So it’s like, I’m a competitor by nature so it was instant, it wasn’t even a thought.”
He continued:
“It’s a definite statement about how I feel about my album, which is confident. At the same time, let’s not forget this is Kanye West. He bets 100, 1,000, whatever the perfect is. His track record is flawless. I’m only expecting an incredible album from him, But I know what I have.”