(AllHipHop News) On Saturday, J. Cole debuted his 4 Your Eyez Only documentary on HBO.
Prior to the film premiering on the cable network, the North Carolina native was interviewed for the New York Times.
The Times article featured Cole discussing several topics including his aversion to the spotlight and his feelings on dissing other rappers.
On fame:
The other side, it’s what we grow up believing that we need and want. It’s everybody’s dream… Who doesn’t want the pick of the litter on this, that and the third? Money, women, cars. And beyond all of that — which I really wasn’t into — praise… It’s addictive. To recognize it, it was the first step… And to change it required overcoming internal fear: I had to recognize, well, where’s the fear coming from?
On rap beef:
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.
Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only album became his fourth project to be certified platinum, following Cole World: The Sideline Story, Born Sinner, and 2014 Forest Hills Drive.