Cole was born on January 28, 1985, at an American military base in Frankfurt, West Germany.
Cole began rapping at the age of twelve, and saw it as an ideal profession in 2000, when his mother purchased an ASR-X musical sampler as a Christmas gift.
Cole decided that moving to New York City would improve his chances of landing a recording contract after graduating from high school with a 4.2 GPA.
He graduated magna cum laude in 2007, with a 3.8 GPA. Cole would officially receive his degree during a homecoming concert in 2015.
Cole and his cousin worked on building their fundamental understanding of rhyming and wordplay.
Cole later used the CD as the backdrop for his debut mixtape, The Come Up. Cole released his second mixtape, The Warm Up, on June 15, 2009 to positive reviews.
In early 2010, Cole was chosen as one of Beyond Race magazine's "50 Great Breakthrough Artists," he ranked 49.
Cole was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2012 Grammy Awards.
Cole played basketball at Terry Sanford High School in North Carolina.
J. Cole married his longtime girlfriend Melissa Heholt in 2015 and the couple share two sons.
J Cole's net worth is around $60 million, making him one of the highest-paid rappers in the world.