J. Cole Opens Up About Smoking Cigarettes At The Age Of 6: 'I Was Trying To Be Cool'

During a recent interview, J. Cole shared a surprising fact about his past. The rapper revealed that he started smoking cigarettes at age 6 and regularly around his neighborhood. He explained that he picked up the habit to impress the older kids in his area.

However, Cole's smoking habit didn't go unnoticed for long. His mother eventually learned about his behavior when his older brother caught him smoking and ran home to tell her. The rapper recalled his mom confronting him about his habit as "life-changing," as it was the first time he realized that his actions could hurt others.

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Renowned rapper and singer J. Cole recently shared a startling fact about his early childhood. During an "Lead by Example" episode with Bob Myers, the "No Role Modelz" hitmaker revealed that he started smoking cigarettes at a remarkably young age of six.

Growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole shared that he used to hang around with older kids in his neighborhood who were regular smokers. He wanted to impress them, and soon, he was puffing away with them.

"I was always hanging around the older kids in the neighborhood," he recalled per Insider. "They were smoking, and I was young and fearless and trying to be cool. So, it was like, 'Oh, y'all smoking. Let me see that,'" he added. According to the rapper, his mother had no idea he had developed such a habit.

On the podcast, Cole disclosed that his mother was unaware of his smoking habit until his older brother, Zach, caught him in the act and ran to inform her.

Recounting the confrontation with his mother, the "Love Yourz" rapper shared, "She was like, 'Say something, I was like, 'What do you mean, say something?' and when I said it, she bent down, she smelled the cigarette smoke on my breath."

Cole described the confrontation as "life-changing." "After that, I didn't need much correction; I became a self-corrector," he said. "That was the first time I became aware that, 'Oh, my actions can hurt someone else.'"

In his interview, Cole shared his thoughts on why he wasn't bothered that his critically acclaimed third studio album "2014 Forest Hills Drive" failed to win the Grammy for best rap album in 2016.

Despite being widely regarded as one of his best works and a modern classic, the album lost to Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly." Cole stated that winning the award would not have changed his experience or enjoyment of the album.

The rapper emphasized that although he has been nominated for 16 Grammy awards since 2012, winning wasn't his top priority. It took him several years before he won his first Grammy in 2020 for best rap song for "A Lot" with 21 Savage.

The 38-year-old rapper also spoke about how his perception of the importance of the awards has evolved over the years after waiting so long to be recognized by the Recording Academy. He now places more importance on artistic fulfillment and personal growth.

In his conversation, Cole opened up about his early desire to win a Grammy. "It was so important to me," he said. "Had I won it early on, I think it would have validated all my feelings for it. Maybe it would have felt like a championship at that point; I'm not sure. The fact that it didn't happen, and then it didn't happen, and it didn't happen, it allowed me to reflect."

Cole explained that with more time to sit with himself, he realized that the desire to win awards wasn't necessarily for him, and winning a Grammy became less important. "Then, when it actually came, it's like, I'm not in love with this thing anymore," he shared.

Despite eventually winning a Grammy with 21 Savage for their song "A Lot," Cole noted that the award was for a feature, not his solo work. "I won a Grammy with somebody else. It was me as a feature on somebody's song. It's not something I did."