The notoriously private J. Cole is opening up about fatherhood for the first time – revealing he’s made room for family life in a candid new interview.
As the new cover star for GQ, Cole spoke to the magazine about welcoming his son, who is now a toddler. “For a while, I felt a little weird about it,” he says while reflecting on how fatherhood has changed him. “Like, nah. I felt, ‘Did I miss something?’ ‘Cause I didn’t feel the change that people talk about. And then I figured out what it was. I changed my life in order to get ready to have a family and to have a son. I literally changed my life, where I was living, the things that I was doing. I changed. So because of that, when my son came, I was ready. I already made room.”
Many fans assumed that J. Cole had a daughter because of the deeply personal lyrics to “She’s Mine Pt. 2” from his 2016 album 4 Your Eyez Only. The assumption was proved wrong when Cole spoke to New York City radio host Angie Martinez about this new chapter in his life. “I just got done doing this album, where everyday I have purpose beyond clearly my obvious purpose as a father, as a husband.”
He continued: “But, I feel like I’ve created a life where my purpose is too placed in music. Where I put too much of my purpose in music… to when I come home, outside of playing with my son, if I go three days without doing music… I start to feel, like, miserable.”
J. Cole is married to his college sweetheart Melissa Heholt, who also serves as Executive Director of Cole’s Dreamville Foundation.
