J. Cole Talks Touring With Rihanna, Jay-Z And Kanye West's "Watch The Throne"

by Slava Kuperstein

J. Cole Talks Touring With Rihanna, Jay-Z And Kanye West's

The Roc Nation artist explains how touring has helped him grow, as well as his mentor's collabo album with Kanye.

While Hip Hop fans await J. Cole's debut, Cole World: The Sideline Story, the North Carolina rapper has been busy on tour.

"I felt like they had me on the road too much," said Cole in an interview with Billboard.com."I was getting frustrated because they didn't have me in the studio as much as other artists. I was working every chance I could, but I was also on the road so much."

Cole explained that Jay-Z changed his opinion of touring. "But Jay said, 'you need to be on the road, because that's when you're going to get the best material. Just living and being on tour, experiencing all these different cities and seeing what works.' And he's right, that's how 'The Blow Up' came [about]."

J. Cole has been the opener for Rihanna's "Loud" tour, a spot previously held by Cee-Lo, who had to give it up due to other obligations. "It's amazing. Every night I'm performing in front of a ton of people who've never heard of me and have the opportunity to win a lot of people over."

And, as rumors heat up about Jay-Z and Kanye's Watch the Throne, Cole could offer little more than, "I don't know a date, but I asked him [Jay-Z] how it was and he just had that look on his face like it was fucking crazy."

J. Cole's Cole World: The Sideline Story is due in stores September 27.