There used to be a lot of mixed emotions surrounding XXXTentacion over the years. On one hand, his abuse allegations were horrifying to read, a shocking display of violence and emotional turmoil from the young rapper. On the other hand, some felt like he was capable of redemption, that he was too young to fully judge. Or they thought everything was lies and that X was a complicated kid. Regardless, people loved his music, including greats like Kendrick Lamar. And apparently, J. Cole also seemed to see a lot in him, flaws and all.
In a 2018 conversation with Billboard, Cole opened up about the misunderstandings of social media. Because he wasn’t super inclined to humor it more than he had to, the narrative might be skewed. With places like Twitter on the brain, the interviewer inquired about one misunderstanding about XXXTentacion when he passed away. J. Cole described him as someone who had “a strong desire to be a better person.”
Naturally, this begs the question: how does he know? Did he talk to him personally? After some behind-the-scenes management discussions, the pair eventually sat down on FaceTime for a few hours. “It was a super-intense conversation. He left a mark on me, just as a person,” Cole said.
J. Cole Reveals How His Conversation With XXXTentacion Turned Out
So why did they talk? What did they even have to talk about? Apparently, X was trying to pick Cole’s brain while also insisting that he’d make it to his level one day. “He started off the conversation literally on some, like—he didn’t even say hello. He started off basically saying, ‘I’m not on your level yet.’ He was talking about spiritually and mentally, and that was intense because I was like, ‘Huh? I’m not on no level,’” J. Cole recalled.
“He was praising me while also saying he was going to achieve whatever it is he felt that I had. I’ve dealt with mentally ill people in my life before, many of them. Right away, I notice that this kid is super passionate and smart, but I could also see that he was so deep in his mind.”
When J. Cole learned of X’s abuse allegations, the rapper tried to see both sides of the situation. Sure, he doesn’t tolerate violence towards women. But he also wanted to acknowledge that X was young and hurt. Ultimately, Cole just wanted to find a way to be helpful and guide him towards a better path.
“When I found out [about the abuse allegations against him], my first response was, ‘Man, I hope maybe one day I’ll get a chance to talk to this kid and figure out if there’s any place that I can help.’ Because anybody who would do the s*** that he did… Hurt people hurt people,” J. Cole stressed. “I’ve walked through prisons and talked to these dudes who got life. They took someone’s life at 16 or 17 years old. You haven’t had the chance to process your trauma at that age. I’ma be sympathetic to a kid who has clearly been through so much f***ed-up s*** that he inflicted this on someone else.”
The post J. Cole Recalls How XXXtentacion ‘Left a Mark’ on the Rapper Before His Passing appeared first on VICE.
