J. Cole recounts the difficult recording process of his new single Disc 2, Track 2.
On Tuesday (Jan. 20), music journalist Timmhotep Aku shared a portion of a recent interview he conducted with the Dreamville head honcho. During the clip, Cole reveals how challenging it was putting together the song, which finds him telling his life story in reverse.
“That was so much time spent downstairs in my crib in the studio while the kids are at school,” Cole explained. “Sitting in one spot and putting a puzzle together. So enjoyable. Took so much time. I don’t say that to say it was, like, work. It was like putting a puzzle together to challenge myself.”
Things got real once the song started coming together.
“At that moment, I get scared. I get excited and scared simultaneously,” Cole continued. “I get excited because I go, ‘What if? What if you could do this whole rhyme about your life story in reverse, but you gotta keep…’ I’m setting rules. ‘You gotta keep…four syllables minimum. What if?’ Then I get excited, because I’m like, that would be so amazing. But then the fear comes in, almost a voice, like, ‘Don’t try it, ni**a. Why? You know that’s not possible.'”
Cole says he finally got over his apprehension and “took the mission” of making the unconventional track, which is akin to Nas’ 2001 song “Rewind.”
On Jan. 14, Cole announced the release date for his long-awaited album The Fall-Off and added to the anticipation by dropping Disc 2, Track 2, which is not the official song title. The Fall-Off is scheduled to drop on Feb. 6. There are reports that Cole may be dropping a mixtape titled It’s a Boy ahead of the album.
