During what is widely believed to be the final Dreamville Fest, J. Cole took a moment to stroll down memory lane, sharing a heartfelt story in his early career about the creation of his 2011 breakout hit, “Work Out.”
The track, a standout from his debut album *Cole World: The Sideline Story*, famously samples Kanye’s “The New Workout Plan” and interpolates Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up.” The result was a genre-blending anthem that helped launch Cole into the mainstream.
In a raw and candid moment, Cole recalled the pressure he felt to deliver a hit. “I was stressed, man, trying to make something stick,” he told the crowd. “One day I was in a hotel, and I heard the f*ckingdoor crack,” he recalled. “Thank God I heard the f*cking door crack. I know n***s feel a way about him right now, but I got love for him, and I really appreciate him. He cleared all these f*cking samples for me.”
Cole went on to describe how hearing “The New Workout Plan” that day hit him differently. “When that door cracked, I heard something I’d heard for a long time—but that day, I heard it differently,” he said, before cueing up Kanye’s “The New Workout Plan.”
“I said, ‘What the f*ck was that?’ It’s like it spoke to me.”
J. Cole spoke about Ye at Dreamville yesterday: pic.twitter.com/XA6h6h65c0
— YEFANATICS (@yefanatics) April 7, 2025
The clearance helped pave the way for “Work Out” to become a commercial success and a staple in Cole’s discography. More than a decade later, the track remains a fan favorite, showcasing Cole’s knack for transforming samples into timeless records—an approach that’s become a defining trait of his artistry.
Cole’s reflections arrive amid a storm of provocative tweets from Kanye West, who recently took aim at the Dreamville rapper. “I hate J Cole music so much,” Ye posted on X. “It’s like between Kendrick and J Cole, I bet you industry plants asked J Cole to diss Drake, then we would have been accosted with a J Cole Super Bowl commercial with no SZA song to save it.”
Ye didn’t stop there, adding, “No one listens to J Cole after loosing their virginity,” and recalling a meeting with Drake during the *Donda* era. “Most of the convo was me telling him he was hurting hip hop by giving J Cole a platform, and I was saying how much I loved Future,” Ye claimed.
Despite the jabs, Cole has stayed gracious, maintaining his admiration for West.