During an interview with Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers on ESPN, J. Cole revealed that he started smoking cigarettes at six-years-old. He said, “At six years old, I was smoking cigarettes regularly around the neighborhood. I was always hanging around the older kids in the neighborhood that my older brother was hanging around and they were smoking. And I was young and fearless and trying to be cool. So, it was like, ‘Oh, y’all smoking. Like, let me see that.’ And, of course, we’re all out there with young parents, long leashes.”
He continued, “To them, it’s funny. They’re 10 themselves. So, it’s funny for them. Nobody’s really worried about me. Nobody is like, ‘Hey! Don’t do that.’ They’re 10 and smoking cigarettes.”
Cole said that he smoked for about two to three weeks until he got caught by his brother who told their mom.
J. Cole explained what happened once his mom found out. He said, “20 minutes later, my brother walks back to the backyard where we was at. ‘Jermaine!’ He’s like, ‘Mom wants to see you.’ So I’m walking home, no fear. No worry at all, I saw her face. When she smelled cigarettes on my breath, her face was heartbroken. It was disbelief. It was like, crushed. I remember the look on her face and she was like, ‘You have been smoking.’ It like hit her.”
He continued, “The reason why I think that was a life-changing moment, where after that I didn’t need much correction—I became a self-corrector—is because that was the first time I became aware that, ‘Oh, my actions can hurt someone else.”
