News: J. Cole and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Cover ESPN Magazine

After J. Cole gave a shout out to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the song ‘Note To Self’ off his latest album Forest Hills Drive, it was hard to make the connection between the two. But, now that they both grace the cover of ESPN Magazine, they are now explaining the connection they have, take a look below.

J. COLE: It all started when I missed the deadline for the physical CD album credits, so I decided to put them on a song and basically shout out everybody who had something to do with the album. I’d been working on the album for a year, and I was in such an ecstatic mood — I felt like I won. So while I’m shouting out everybody, I was like, “I may as well pretend a shoutout, somebody I have no idea who they are, just as a joke.” There was an interview Dale Jr. did that asked him what he plays before races, and he said “J. Cole ‘Power Trip,'” which freaked me out! What is Dale Earnhardt Jr. doing playing my shit? How did he even find out about it? You don’t think somebody on that level would ever hear your stuff. From there, I never forgot. I was always like, “Yo, I ride with Dale Earnhardt Jr.” So when I was picking a name, I chose his. And it worked out crazy. Everywhere I go now — the airport, the store — people say, “Yo, Cole, I love that album, bro, it’s a classic!” And Dale Earnhardt Jr., it’s the first thing they bring up! It’s already a thing in hip-hop, already an inside joke that’s going to live forever.

DALE EARNHARDT JR.: “Power Trip” was coming up on my Pandora station a lot. I found out Cole was from North Carolina, and when you like a guy’s music and you find out he’s from where you’re from, you tend to start to follow him. I heard he had a new album, and it started popping up on my Twitter timeline that there was this shoutout. I was like, “Oh shit, what’s happening here?” So I went and listened to it, and it was funny as hell! So I tweeted to him, “Man, that shit’s funny!” And he retweeted it and thought it was cool.
You pull for a guy because of the local connection. Normally, on the rare chance that a celebrity comes to my property, I get real nervous. But I wasn’t nervous with him, because I knew this looks just like his backyard. It’s a connection, a North Carolina connection, and he reps North Carolina in his music, and he’s proud of where he’s from and bringing recognition to Fayetteville. I’m proud of North Carolina too.

COLE: We’re proud of you too, man. You’re a legend. My brothers are going to flip. It’s crazy that that shoutout would lead to this.

EARNHARDT: I was thinking the same thing. It was a joke, and people thought we’d never meet.

COLE: People who don’t get the joke ask me about it. They’re like, “Yo, what’d he tell you?” You didn’t hear the song? I’ve never met him. He didn’t tell me anything. When you tweeted that, it was a real big moment in hip-hop. People were like, “Ohhhhh!” It was a very big thing.
We’re two human beings with respect for one another and for everybody. So somebody from the world I come from might not ever think Dale Earnhardt Jr. is listening to rap music or is as cool as he is or as down-to-earth as he is. There might be a certain stereotype toward a NASCAR driver in the world I’m from. Just like in the world he’s from there might be ignorance as to what a rapper is and who a rapper is. That’s not reality. It’s two human beings that have super-duper respect for everybody.

EARNHARDT: To cross into the mainstream and mix these two fields together, it’s a hell of an opportunity for my fans to be introduced to him and vice versa. There are a lot of fans of mine that are also rap music fans, and that’s different from the stereotype. It’s fun when you put these two worlds together because people don’t expect it.

COLE: Our worlds have a lot more in common than people want to think. Stereotypes prevent the worlds from colliding and connecting more. The powers that be like it like that. They like it that the cultures don’t mix, because if they ever were to mix, they would realize they’re in the same boat and have a lot more in common than they have differences. It’s these guys that are actually holding us down — both of us.
I was thinking about NASCAR on my way here today. Coming from Fayetteville, it’s big NASCAR country. NASCAR represents working-class people. It gives them something to tune in to every week and dream about. It’s not a bougie sport by any means. It’s not a rich sport by any means.

EARNHARDT: It’s blue-collar.

To read the full interview, head over to ESPN.