Before The Fall-Off, J. Cole’s come-up was already being documented.
As the world gears up for the Forest Hills Drive rapper to release his alleged final album, Hip-Hop Wired caught up with someone who played a pivotal role in Cole’s earliest days as an artist.
Nervous Reck, half of Fayetteville, N.C., rap group Bomm Sheltuh, reflected on witnessing J. Cole’s rise firsthand. Filthe Rich and Nerv regularly performed at a local Skate Zone. He later recalled his very first interaction with Cole online:
“You know, back then, we had AOL. It was, like, for a week straight, I’d get this little pop up in my thing, and they’d be like, what’s up? I didn’t know what it was, so I X out of it. So then like on the 4th or 5th day, I finally was like, yo, what’s up? He was called Blazer at the time. His screen name was Blazer 15 and he was just like, yo, I’m a rapper. I’m a fan of y’all.”
Nerv also explained how he invited the Young Simba rapper to perform at an upcoming show:
“We got a show coming up at the skate zone. After the show’s over, we’re gonna do an open mic and let some cats that we f*ck with, you know, come rapping, you know what I mean? Just showcase their skills. So I said, come out to that, and I’ll let you get on stage.”
The performance went so well that Nervous Reck extended an open invitation for the young rapper to come to his house and learn how to record music.
Years later, J. Cole has cemented himself as one of the greatest MCs in Hip-Hop history. Whenever possible, he has credits Bomm Sheltuh for their early influence. During the rollout for The Fall-Off, Cole shared an alternate cover featuring a story about hist first recording session at Bomm Sheltuh’s studio:
“I was done writing a track that I titled ‘The Storm,’ I probably rapped it out loud 50 times back-to-back, my young mind blown that I had actually wrote something this great. I called Nervous Reck immediately to ask if I could come over to The Sheltuh to record it.”
Cole also previewed the back cover of The Fall-Off, which features his childhood bedroom wall covered with albums that inspired him over the years, including Bomm Sheltuh’s debut project http://www.bommsheltuh.com.
Check out Hip-Hop Wired’s exclusive interview with Nervous Reck of Bomm Sheltuh below:
