As part of The Fader’s Earlier That Day series, Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper J. Cole spoke with the publication about a variety of topics including his Dollar And A Dream Tour and stereotypes.

While speaking with The Fader prior to his Dollar And A Dream tour stop in Los Angeles, California earlier this year, Cole revealed that there was a time when he was insecure about performing certain songs due to the fact that they weren’t known outside of the internet.

He also spoke on being able to relate to his fans and making decisions because of his “I know what it’s like to be y’all” mentality.

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“Some of these songs I never performed until this tour,” J. Cole said. “There was a time I was super insecure about doing these songs because nobody knew ‘em outside of the internet. You know what I mean? And it’s just funny now to come back five years later and realize that that was all—That all meant nothing. And these shows always remind me every night like ‘Oh shit, they get it. They were living by this.’ And they still do. These kids are the internet. The living, breathing, fuckin’ version of the internet. This tour and a lot of things that I do, a lot of decisions that I made come from a mentality of ‘I know what it’s like to be y’all. And I know what I would want to see.’ And on the other hand, it’s made from a selfish artist standpoint. Like ‘Yo, I just want to perform these songs.’ You know what I mean? So, it’s just as much for me as it is for them.”

Lastly, Cole recalled reading part of a book titled, “How The Mind Works” and detailed how the book touched on the mind and origins of stereotypes.

“It was all about how the mind works,” he said. “And the mind works in patterns. You see a tree because you see a pattern of leaves and bark and your mind says ‘Oh, those patterns equal [a] tree.’ If the mind does work like that, in patterns, stereotypes would be natural. You know what I mean? I would think. But I can meet somebody that’s Puerto Rican, 19, and have genuine interactions with this type of person. To the point where I know them. My patterns and my stereotypes about this type of person are a little more informed…The problem is most people’s opinions of these people they’ve never met is all like given—the information is given by television and fuckin’ stereotypes that already exist in the media, which are never fuckin’ accurate.”

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The release of The Fader’s interview with J. Cole comes weeks before the scheduled December 9 release of his third studio album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive.

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