Born on a military base in Germany but raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his debut mixtape, The Come Up, in early 2007. Intent on further pursuing a solo career as a rapper, he went on to release two additional mixtapes, The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights after signing to Jay-Z\'s Roc Nation imprint in 2009. Cole released his debut studio album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, in 2011. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, and was soon certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His next two releases, 2013\'s Born Sinner and 2014\'s 2014 Forest Hills Drive, received mostly positive reviews from critics, and both were certified platinum in the United States. The latter earned him his first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album. In December 2016, Cole released his fourth studio album 4 Your Eyez Only. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum in April 2017. His fifth album, KOD, was released in April 2018. The album debuted atop the Billboard 200, making it his fifth album to reach number one on the chart and has since been certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.\n', '

Self-taught on piano, Cole also acts as a producer alongside his hip-hop career, producing singles for artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Janet Jackson, as well as handling the majority of the production in his own projects. He has also developed other ventures, including Dreamville Records, as well as a non-profit organization called the Dreamville Foundation. In January 2015, Cole decided to house single mothers rent-free at his childhood home in Fayetteville, North Carolina.\n', '

Jermaine Lamarr Cole was born on January 28, 1985, at an American military base in Frankfurt, West Germany. His father is an African-American veteran, who served in the U.S. Army, and his mother, Kay, is a white European American who worked as a postal worker for the United States Postal Service. Cole\'s father later abandoned the family during his youth, prompting his mother to relocate Cole and his brother, Zach Cole, to Fayetteville, North Carolina. Cole grew up in a multi-ethnic environment, and when asked about how closely his ethnicity impacts him, Cole commented, "I can identify with white people, because I know my mother, her side of the family, who I love. But at the end of the day, [I\'ve] never felt white. I can identify [with white people] but never have I felt like I\'m one of them. I identify more with what I look like, because that\'s how I got treated [but] not necessarily in a negative way". During his youth, Cole expressed an affinity for basketball and music, and served as a first-chair violinist for the Terry Sanford Orchestra until 2003.\n', '

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