J. Cole Intentionally Moved His Album to Compete With Kanye West to Make a Statement
Kanye West once went head to head with 50 Cent when the two released their albums on the same date to outsell each other. History somewhat repeated itself with J. Cole, who similarly tried to outdo the “Stronger” artist in record sales.
Why J. Cole wanted to beat Kanye West
J. Cole held no ill will toward Kanye West back when he clashed with the fashion mogul. The two have even collaborated on certain projects, which Cole hoped would be a frequent occurrence.
“I’m such a Kanye West fan,” Cole said in a 2010 interview with Vulture. “With people like that, I just like to earn my own way, earn my keep kind of. I would love to work with him on a major scale. Not just a song here or a song there — I would love to do something extraordinary with him. But I feel like I gotta step my game up and kind of earn my spot before I can worry about that.”
But the rapper saw an opportunity to truly be West’s peer when West released his sixth studio album, Yeezus, on June 18, 2013. Around the same time, Cole released his sophomore album, Born Sinner, which was scheduled to debut a month after the West album. But after some consideration, Cole changed his plans and released Born Sinner on the same day as Yeezus.
“Instantly the lightbulb [turned on]… it got real. I made one phone call to somebody that would know, just to make sure first. As soon as I got it confirmed, I was like, ‘Yo…’ The idea hit me instantly: ‘You got to go to that date,’” West once told Billboard.
Cole just didn’t want to play second fiddle to West at the time or have the “Touch the Sky” artist overshadow him.
“I’m not going to sit [here]… I worked too hard to come a week later after Kanye West drops an amazing album. It’d be like, ‘Oh and J.Cole dropped too, a week later.’ Nah. I’m going to go see him on that date. He’s the greatest. So it’s like, I’m a competitor by nature, so it was instant. It wasn’t even a thought,” West said.
“It’s a definite statement about how I feel about my album, which is confident,” he added.
How J. Cole’s album faired against Kanye West’s
Cole was well aware that dethroning West wouldn’t be an easy feat given the hitmaker’s musical legacy.
“At the same time, let’s not forget this is Kanye West. He bets 100, 1,000, whatever the perfect is. His track record is flawless. I’m only expecting an incredible album from him,” Cole reminded.
Unlike West’s competitive rivalry with 50 Cent, Cole would end up being the winner this time. Although, initially, that didn’t seem like it would be the case. The Fayetteville Observer once reported that Yeezus outsold Born Sinner in the first week of the release. But a confident Cole didn’t regret his decision.
“I could’ve left it right where I was and just gone head to head with [Washington, D.C., rapper] Wale and seen what happened there,” he said. “I would’ve had a much better chance, but it wasn’t about the sales. … It’s more about the statement, [and putting] my name in the conversation.”
“This is art, and I can’t compete against the Kanye West celebrity and the status that he’s earned, just from being a genius. But I can put my name in the hat and tell you that I think my album is great and you be the judge and you decide,” he added.
In the long term, however, Cole came out on top. Reuters reported that Born Sinner eventually sold 439,000 records by July 2013. Meanwhile, West’s Yeezus started trailing behind Born Sinner at 431,000 copies.
