J. Cole has been very open about his grind to the top, but his new audio series Inevitable has revealed even more roadblocks in his career. He recently reflected on being rejected by Paul Rosenberg, manager to the legendary Eminem.
In the late 2000s, he began taking label meetings alongside his manager Ibrahim Hamad. One particular meeting with G-Unit opened some bigger doors for them. “After that meeting [with G-Unit], we got a meeting with two people: one was Chris Lighty and the other was – I think Sha [Money XL] had something to do with this – he got us a meeting with Paul Rosenberg who is Eminem’s manager forever and runs Shady Records,” Cole said.
“Just like being at 50’s house and meeting Mark Pitts, it was, ‘Now we’re talking momentum.’ Just a year prior, I was f**king waiting outside on some Hail Mary sh*t for JAY-Z, and now I’m getting real momentum of people calling like, ‘They want to come and see us, they want us to pull up and play music.’”
(L-R) 50 Cent and J. Cole perform onstage during the 50 Cent: The Final Lap Tour at Barclays Center on August 09, 2023 in New York City.
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Ibrahim Hamad chimed in with his assessment of how Paul Rosenberg appeared to view the meeting. “I remember at the Paul Rosenberg meeting, ’cause I was there for that, it really felt like he was doing someone a favor,” he said. Cole added: “Chris Lighty’s energy was more like, ‘Yo, I’m just gonna give y’all some game. Y’all young ni**as I heard about, boom boom boom.’”
As for Rosenberg, Cole had a more blunt account of his mood in the meeting compared to Hamad’s. “And Paul Rosenberg genuinely felt like he was disinterested and didn’t give a f**k. It literally felt like it was a favor. There was no vibe to that meeting, he didn’t see it, he didn’t get it. Which is cool, he didn’t play us at all.”
Cole and Ib weren’t swayed by his disinterest because they felt like being in such a room was enough. “I didn’t give a f**k because it was momentum,” Cole exclaimed. “The fact that I was right there with Eminem’s f**king manager and somehow I made it to him and on his f**king radar was just more proof of, ‘Yo, just keep doing what you’re f**king doing.’” Check out the full episode and past releases here.
J. Cole’s career panned out well as history shows. He went on to sign to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation imprint, secure several platinum records, receive Grammy nominations, and become part of “The Big 3.” Music-wise, he shared Might Delete Later earlier this year which is up for Best Rap Album at the 2025 Grammys.
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