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“As far as comparisons, I try to compare myself with the greats.”

Expectations are a way for people to place faith in others and give them the feeling that they will never let him/her down.  The problem with expectations for some, however, is actually living up to them as the bar may be set entirely too high for them to reach such a peak.

In the case of rising Roc Nation artist J. Cole, a lot of weight has been put on his shoulders since “A Star Is Born.”  Premiering on The Blueprint III almost gave him the immediate stamp for future greatness, but amongst a wave of formidable others such as Drake, Wale, B.O.B and others, the road may be a little rockier to climb.   

Speaking on Straight Spittas DVD, the North Carolina native spoke on his appreciation for his fellow up and coming rappers in the game, but prefers to not deal with the constant comparison of him to them.  Instead, he wants to be held up on a higher pedestal with those that have already made their mark in history.

“That’s who I want to talk about and those are my standards.  That’s the level that I want to reach.  When it comes to comparisons with the new guys, I don’t even do that.” 

The rapper also touched on his particular style of rap as this is the only thing that can make a person stand out from the rest or fade into the crowd. 

“In terms of my style, I like to give people substance.  I pay tribute to the lyricism that’s been a standard of the greats for a long time so I try to uphold that.  I don’t want to slack on that.  I feel like that would be disrespect to the game and to the culture, for me personally.  I try to bring real-life scenarios that we go through and explore them real deep.  I don’t just do surface rap.  I don’t just do like, I’m making money, I got chains, I’m doing this, I’m Fawkin’ hoes.  I like to dive deeper like what happens when a man is in a relationship with a woman or when you’re in a relationship and messing with this girl over here.  Everybody has family locked up, with problems or on drugs.  I’m just a regular n*gga and I’m not claiming to be anything else.  I can just paint those pictures very well.”

Stating that his debut should be coming late Spring or around the Summertime of 2010, Cole added that he has some touring to do in the meantime which will put the studio time on hold.  Postponing for this tour, however, may prove more beneficial as he has been another soldier recruited in the ranks of Jay-Z’s army to join him in his North American College Tour that kicks off at Penn State on October 9.  He will be joined by Wale, who also postponed his debut for the tour, and N.E.R.D for the 24 show tour.