Drake lived up to the hype, Nicki Minaj proved she can give the boys a run for their money and Justin Bieber stole the hearts of pre-pubescent girls all over the world. Drake, Minaj, and Biebs all debuted at the top of the charts in 2010 and let us know they’re here to stay. Now the New Year is upon us and the question is, who is next? With his debut album set to be released this year, Roc Nation’s J. Cole is that guy!

Who Dat? You may ask…

In 2007, J. Cole’s rise to fame gave the web a taste of his raw and energetic style with his debut mixtape The Come Up. Cole did a good job with it, but to get to where he wanted to be he was going to have to ‘come up’ with something else that really gave people a reason to start talking about that kid from Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Two years later, J. Cole delivered. He released his second mixtape The Warm Up on June 15th, 2009. This release was a little different than the first. The Warm Up gave people a reason to start talking. It was a breath of fresh air and took the internet by storm. J. Cole’s rise to fame had arrived. You and I weren’t the only ones to have The Warm Up on replay; after hearing the mixtape’s first single “Lights Please,” Jay-Z came a-callin’ and just like that J. Cole was the first artist to be signed to Jay’s record label, Roc Nation.

OK, enough with the history lesson. Bottom line, the dude’s got talent. And if The Warm Up or the Roc Nation signing wasn’t enough, just a couple of months ago, Cole released his third mixtape Friday Night Lights. Quick review – it was perfect.

Roc Nation’s J. Cole takes lyricism to another level. His wordplay and subject matter along with his overall approach to the game is very reminiscent to that of Nas. Cole’s music is an array of stories that are articulated brilliantly through his rapping and catchy beats, many of which are produced by the man himself.

J. Cole is hungry and determined to be next to grace the charts and have himself a year to remember; I’ve got a hunch that 2011 will be the year for Roc Nation’s J. Cole to blow up. From The Come Up to Friday Night Lights, he has shown that he has all the right ingredients to be on top of the game, and with a little help from his Roc Nation family it won’t be long before he gets there.

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