Whenever the greatest decides to retire, the crown has to be passed down. So the question is: Once the king steps back who will fill the void?

Enter J. Cole: heir to the kingdom, signed by hip hop royalty Jay-Z to Roc Nation (and featured on The Blueprint 3. This newcomer hopes to find the success that many of his contemporaries have failed to achieve. More importantly, he wants to carry hip-hop on his back. With the current climate of the music biz, Cole hopes to break the redundancy of catchy hooks, flashy dances and no content worth speaking about. Few new artists have been received with such fanfare or a brighter outlook.

Born Jermaine Cole, he was raised by a single mother in Fayetteville, North Carolina. His experiences growing up there helped shape and craft the basis of his songs. Cole was turned on to the art form at a young age. His influences include a who’s who of hip-hop greatest: Tupac, Nas, Outkast, and his new boss. From each of them he learned how to craft stories that the masses could envision in their minds. By the age of 15 he was armed with a black and white book filled with potential hits, but there was only one problem – he lacked the beats to actually create songs. After relentless pleading with his mother she finally purchased him a beat machine which he used continuously until he laid the groundwork for the music that he is known for today.

Knowing that if you want to make it in music New York is where you need to be, he attended St. Johns University. After graduating with high honors J. Cole turned all his attention to music. He has been tearing up the internet with such hot tracks like “Simba” in which he steadfastly makes his arrival in the game known. His “Dolla and a Dream Part 2″ shows his ability to reach the people and allows them to know that he has endured their pain. His debut mix tape The Come Up has received rave reviews, and is considered a melting pot of everything from wild nights in the college dorms to the times that he didn’t have it growing up.

J. Cole has shown that there is distance between him and those who would be considered his peers. He left the talk of swag and jewelry behind and rhymes on a higher level of consciousness. After all, the brother did graduate Magna Cum Laude. J. Cole wants to establish himself as the next greatest thing and breathe life back into a hip hop game that has been considered deceased for a number of years. His studio album is on the way and with it he hopes to bring the game back to a place where insightful and redeeming work is the mark of a true emcee. And with talent like his and Big Homie’s co-sign how could he not?

Download his latest mixtapes, watch videos and more on his website: here.