Five things to know about J. Cole

When J. Cole steps on the stage at his sold-out show at The Cotillion on Sunday, it will represent arguably the biggest hip-hop act to come to Wichita since T.I. came to the Kansas Coliseum in 2008.

Cole, however, is truly of the new era of rap. The Grammy-nominated rapper represents the conscious-forward thinking of many of the top rappers in the industry right now, with socially conscious lyrics about racial injustice and racial identity.

If you’re going to Sunday’s show or are unfamiliar with the rap star, here are five facts about him:

The basics – J. Cole’s real name is Jermaine Lamarr Cole, and he’s from Fayetteville, N.C. He was born on a United States Air Force base in West Frankfurt, Germany, then moved back to the U.S., where he was raised by his mother. He turned 30 in January.

The big break – His mixtape “The Come Up” was released in 2007 and eventually caught the attention of hip-hop mogul Jay Z, who signed him in 2009. Cole used a sample from an old interview where Jay Z talks about trying to find the next big star “…some kid somewhere, eating Apple Jacks, beating on the back of the box,” as the start of his song “Rise and Shine” on his first album. Cole now has his own label, Dreamville, through a deal with Interscope.

Top of the charts – All three of his albums have opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. “Cole World” (2011), “Born Sinner” (2013) and “2014 Forest Hills Drive” (2014). What’s amazing about “Forest Hills” is that he did little to no promotion for the album and it still sold almost 400,000 copies in the first week. Cole wrote every song on his first two albums, which is highly unusual in rap.

Got the degree – Cole decided to go to college in New York to further his rap career. He graduated from St. John’s University magna cum laude with a degree in communications. He thought that living in New York, instead of North Carolina, would give him a better chance or landing a record deal. It was there where he first met Jay Z, waiting outside of his office for three hours to try to get him to take a CD with beats Cole had made. Jay Z declined.

Got the fiancee – He recently confirmed his engagement to longtime girlfriend Melissa Heholt, who he’s been with for 10 years and met at St. John’s. Heholt is making a name for herself as a wedding planner. That should make picking the dress easier, right?

This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 2:51 PM with the headline "Five things to know about J. Cole."