In support of his album 2014 Forest Hills Drive and its corresponding 64-city world tour, J. Cole recently gave an interview on the Tavis Smiley show. The interview touches on a few things Cole has spoken about before, but also gives fans a more introspective look at Cole’s past and present state of mind.

They start by talking about how he became a great storyteller with his music, and Cole recounts starting out as a “bed room artist,” which allowed him to be alone with his thoughts when he was writing. They also talk about Cole moving as a child from a trailer-park home to 2014 Forest Hills Drive, which would be the last house he’d live in before going to college.

This leads into a discussion about school, and how being a college graduate is not typical for Hip-Hop artists (6:30). Cole talks about doing well in school, but says because the system was based on tests, he did well at studying to pass exams but didn’t retain much of what he learned. He recalls how he was focused on getting good grades since elementary school, and talks about prioritizing his dreams to become both a college grad and a Rap artist.

Next, Cole and Smiley talk about the driving forces in Hip-Hop. Cole breaks down “beef” and competition in Rap, and how those things can be used as a petty way to get attention but also as driving forces for MCs to do better (11:30). He talks about rejection being another driving force, and how, for him, that related to not having his father around and having to adapt to being around his step father (15:00). Cole is able to tie these points about competition and rejection to Michael Jordan and Steve Jobs during the conversation.

Tavis Smiley then asks Cole about his reading habits, as Cole had asked Tavis to autograph his book Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year before they started the interview (17:30). Cole talks about only becoming a reader recently, as he ties back to not retaining much knowledge during college and wanting to learn history.

They end the interview by having Cole break down some of the songs off 2014 Forest Hills Drive and also talk about his plans to allow low-income families to live in the actual house (20:00). Watch the entire interview below:

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