J. Cole Admits He Moved ‘Born Sinner’ Release Date To Compete With Kanye West

North Carolina rapper J. Cole recently admitted that he moved the release date of his sophomore album Born Sinner up a month in order to compete with Kanye West’s upcoming album Yeezus.

Cole’s album was initally scheduled to be released in July, but he changed the date to June 18 — the same day West’s sixth solo album hits shelves.

“Kanye West is one of the greatest artists of our generation,” the 28-year-old tweeted. “Which is exactly why I’m moving my release date up.”

Cole, who was the first artist signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label, told Billboard that he decided the change the release date of Born Sinner once someone confirmed the Yeezus release date.

“Instantly the lightbulb [turned on]… it got real. I made one phone call to somebody that would know, just to make sure first. As soon as I got it confirmed, I was like, ‘Yo…’ The idea hit me instantly: ‘You got to go to that date,” J. Cole said. “I’m not going to sit [here]… I worked too hard to come a week later after Kanye West drops an amazing album. It’d be like, ‘Oh and J.Cole dropped too, a week later.’ Nah. I’m going to go see him on that date. He’s the greatest. So it’s like, I’m a competitor by nature so it was instant, it wasn’t even a thought.”

J. Cole will also be going up against Mac Miller‘s Watching Movies With the Sound Off. Miller said he wasn’t worried about the competition, although he admitted that he was initially nervous, but had been set on the date for awhile and thought it was an “omen.”

Miller’s first album, Blue Slide Park, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 145,000 copes sold in its first week. It was the first independently-distributed debut album to hit the top of the chart since Tha Dogg Pound’s Dogg Food in 1995.

Are you excited for Born Sinner? Will you also be checking out Kanye West and Mac Miller’s albums?

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