Jermaine Lamarr Cole (or J. Cole for short) is a rapper and producer from Fayetteville, North Carolina. He rose to fame following his 2007 mixtape titled The Come Up, and has since become a household name thanks to his numerous top hits such as No Role Modelz and Middle Child.

In February 2017, Atlanta rapper Destin Choice Route (who goes by his stage name J.I.D.) signed with Cole’s record production company Dreamville. J. Cole has served as a mentor for J.I.D., and the two artists have collaborated several times under the Dreamville label.