Born as Jermaine Cole on 28 January 1985, in Frankfurt, (then) West Germany, to a father in the US Army, and a German mother working for the US Postal Service, J. Cole is a rap artist, record producer, as well as a songwriter who came to prominence in 2007 with the release of his debut mixtape, “The Come Up”.
So just how rich is J. Cole? According to sources, J. Cole’s net worth is estimated to be over $8 million, the majority of his wealth having been accumulated from his rapping career, which began in the late 1990s.
J. Cole Net Worth $8 Million
Soon after his birth, his father left, and his mother moved the family to North Carolina. Cole’s passion for rapping started at the early age of 12, and before he turned 15 he was already writing his own lyrics. When he was 17 years old, J. Cole took the nickname of “Therapist” and started posting his songs on the Internet.However, he didn’t neglect his education, and won a scholarship which enabled him to study computer science at St John’s University in New York City, then switching to communications and business. However, because of an unpaid library fine, he didn’t receive his degree until 2015!
J. Cole released his first mixtape “The Come Up” after he graduated from college, and it was enough to attract the attention of Jay-Z, who signed him to his record label the “Roc Nation”. Cole came out with his second mixtape entitled “The Warm Up”, and around the same time started to be featured on the tracks of various artists, including Jay-Z, Wale, Talib Kweli and B.o.B. J. Cole then went on to produce another mixtape, and two years later, in 2011, Cole came out with his debut studio work entitled “Cole World: The Sideline Story”. A highly anticipated album, it was positively accepted by the critics and the audience, and with a #1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, became one of the best-selling albums of the year, selling over 218 000 copies in the first week, and to date over 660 000 copies, which resulted in it receiving Gold certification from the RIAA. The album also spawned three singles and was nominated for American Music Awards, and BET Hip Hop Awards.Ever since then, J. Cole has been enjoying commercial success, while his mainstream fan base grew over time.
J. Cole was already on the rise at the time, even before he released his first studio work. In 2010, Cole was featured on the list of “50 Great Breakthrough Artists”, where he placed at #49. Cole then came out with his third mixtape “Friday Night Lights”, which was not only loved by his audience but earned him a BET Hip Hop Award for Best Mixtape of the Year. Soon after that Cole released his debut studio album, which only added to Cole’s growing fame. More recently, in 2013, Cole released his second studio work under the name of “Born Sinner”, which features guest appearances from TLC, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar and others. The album did as well on the market as its predecessor, as it peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold more than 297 000 copies during its debut week. Since then, he has released the live album “Forest Hills Drive – Live” in 2016, now certified platinum and which won various awards, and also in 2016 the studio album “4 Your Eyez Only” which was followed by a documentary of the same title, all drawing considerable interest, and adding to J. Cole’s net worth.
In his personal life, J. Cole married Melissa Heholt in 2015, and the couple have a daughter born the following year. They reside in Raleigh, North Carolina.
