J. Cole: The Sideline Story Tour
Everyone sees the posters hung up all around campus. J. Cole in big letters across them, proclaiming the hot new artist’s future stop at Bloomsburg University for his Campus Consciousness Tour which also brought us artists like fellow rappers Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, and Kid Cudi. All which were a success and sold out on Bloomsburg’s campus. But who is this young artist who is the talk of the music scene right now? And why Bloomsburg?
“I really like J. Cole right now,” says Bloomsburg student Mike Celmer, “I think he’s incredibly talented and his style is a little different than everyone else’s, I think that different is what you need to be successful in the music industry.” Cole has never been afraid to be different. Recently, Cole has been nominated for the “Best New Artist” Grammy and has been making waves working with artists such as Beyonce, Wale, Drake, Jay- Z, and Kanye West. “He’s been working with some of the biggest names in Hip- Hop and he doesn’t talk about what the typical Hip- Hop artist talks about. He’s not talking about the cars, money or, fame, but about real life struggles.” Echo’s 19-year-old David Tamin.
During his adolescence Cole, born Jeremiah, moved with his family to North Carolina and he perfected his craft. He attended St. Johns University in Queens, New York and started to make a name for himself in the industry. Showing that he has the brains to go along with his talent, he graduated Magna Cum Laude on a full academic scholarship.
Mixing his southern roots with his big city New York vibe, he caught the ears of some of the biggest names in music including one of the greatest rappers alive by some opinion, Jay- Z. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany to a military family and often describes himself as the “First German Rapper” ever signed to Jay- Z’s Roc Nation label.
Although, rapper may be his title, Cole is much more than that. He is also a singer, singing most of the choruses on his tracks. Also, he is a very good producer, and has been producing his own beats since the age of 15. This is a rarity in the music business today as most artists either rap or produce, not both.
“I think Bloomsburg has been dead on with the concerts recently,” says Vincent Carbone a sophomore at BU. “Between Kid Cudi, Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, OAR, and now J. Cole, I think that not only did they hit the nail on the head in terms of what students would want to see, but they also gave us a good variety of different artists. Not all one genre.” Vinny is not the only one that feels this way. Many students have been lining up to attend these concerts, even going as far as camping out in front of the Kehr Union to lock up there tickets. This is a good sign for Bloomsburg and an even better sign for the Universities Community Government Association, which is responsible for most of the events held throughout campus. Senior CGA President Dave Abrams couldn’t be happier with the decision to bring Cole to Pennsylvania, “I think it’s going to be a great show, he’s a great upcoming artist and I think were going to look back on it and think that it was a great Bloomsburg memory.”
Tickets for the show go on sale March 5th for Bloomsburg students until the date of the concert on April 26th.
