J. COLE

"In a game full of liars it turns out that I’m the truth. Some say that rap’s alive. It turns out that I’m the proof."

"I know that vengeance is the Lord’s and it’s not for me."

"There’s a story behind every person, a reason why they are the way they are. So, think about that before you judge someone."

"I know Heaven is a mind state, I’ve been a couple times"

"The thing about being an artist today is you get to develop right in front of people’s eyes before you even put out an album."

"My life accelerated, but had to wait my turn. But then I redecorated, that means my tables turn."

"If they don’t know your dreams, they can’t shoot them down."

"Take a chance, because you never know how perfect something can turn out."

"I don’t like to think of it as being fired. Instead, I prefer to think of it as being on indefinite leave with a sabbatical flair."

"School is a good place – it ain’t for everybody, but I think it’s for most people."

"The further I go, I still feel equally further from my eventual goal. Because as I grow, I get more goals. I’m never content."

"I no longer bury demons, I be a vessel for the truth until I’m barely breathing, I’m singing"

"I’m here to spread a message of hope. Follow your heart. Don’t follow what you’ve been told you’re supposed to do."

"I still wanna rap better than everybody else, and I wanna say important things."

"I had a lot of resistance, and not just to fame. I was always conscious of not changing."

"Producing all my own songs and refusing to go to the hot producer. That’s the biggest risk I’ve taken so far."

"I swear I walk with God, but the devil keeps following."

"If you truly believe it, that’s step one. Step two, is, you know, the hard work that goes along with it."

"Never give up until you’ve given out all your very best. It’s better to fail trying, than wondering what could have happened if you tried."

"Anything I do, I want to do it well."

"Sometimes our dreams come true, sometimes our fears do too."

"You have to hurt in order to know. Fall in order to grow. Lose in order to gain. Because most of life’s lessons are learned in pain."