J. Cole has been on a historic feature run despite not dropping much material of his own over the past few years — yet one of his biggest solo hits has now caught up to his colossal stardom.
Earlier this month, his 2014 Forest Hills Drive blockbuster “No Role Modelz” crossed two billion streams on Spotify, positioning him beside Hip Hop royalty such as Drake, Travis Scott and Lil Uzi Vert.
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Last year, it became the longest-charting song in the streaming giant’s history, lasting a total of 2,274 consecutive days on the United States chart. In March 2022, the track accumulated 527,000 daily streams, reaching a new all-time peak of No. 12 on the chart — two spots higher than its previous best.
As for his golden assists, the Dreamville boss was recently featured on “Let Me Calm Down” on Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2, about which she expressed her admiration on social media.
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“This man J. Cole had a 2 hour talk with me,” she wrote on Twitter. “2. Two!!!! Didn’t realize I was sitting on a therapist couch but ummm [crying emoji] 2 days later I heard this verse & couldn’t stop crying. The end.
“In a world where we know EXACTLY how & WHEN to tear each other apart, there are still Kings & Queens who know how to put ppl back together. Patch them up. Heal them. Empower them. Understand them. Listen to them. Make them do the most beautiful thing a human being can do. Smile”
The story prompted Nicki to recount the touching moment she saw her son smile for the first time, writing: “After having #papabear I couldn’t wait for the day he’d smile @ me. First smile? It was one day when I blew a kiss @ him. I said ‘papa mmuuuaahhhhh!!!!’ then? Time froze. Froze. He smiled? He smiled. At Me? Looking directly in my eyes? Yes.
“Me? Held back the tears & just kept doing a billion more times,” she added. “I cried later. I’ve been trying to make him smile every day since…lol he actually makes me crack up laughing all the time. No idea where he got all that personality from but y’all pray for me.”
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She concluded by acknowledging that she has been wanting to work with Cole for quite some time, welcoming him to “#GagCity” on behalf of her Barbz.
