J. Cole Talks Religion & XXXTentacion in Rare Interview

J. Cole opens up about religion, XXXTentacion, and more in a rare interview with No Jumper, which took place during an impromptu visit to host Adam 22’s OnSomeShit clothing store in Los Angeles.

During the conversation, which reportedly lasted 30 minutes, Cole reveals his thoughts on religion and his experiences with faith throughout his life.

“It hit a point where I had to question it for the first time. I felt bad about it. I felt guilty,” he said. “For even having a negative thought about it. I went and got baptized, started reading The Bible, and I was scared as fuck. Then it hit a point in my life where I just fell off and said, I’ll let the answer come. As I got older, I felt like I got a personal understanding of what God is to me, a strong belief too.”

Beyond his conversation about God, J. Cole also broke down his thoughts on XXXTentacion, who he learned about last year, after he was knocked out at a show. “I got a little jaded,” he said of his detachment from hip-hop in recent years. “Last year, I decided, ‘I gotta stop that shit. I have to allow myself to become a fan of whatever the fuck enters my life.’ Last year, when the kid got punched onstage, it was clearly big enough to come to my realm,” he said. “That leads me to hear some of his shit. I was like, ‘Damn. This ni**a’s actually talented.'”

J. Cole is coming off 2016’s 4 Your Eyez Only and has a reported collaboration with Royce 5’9″ on the way. Watch his conversation about religion, X, and more below.