Cop a gander of J. Cole!

The Hip-Hop titan has been unveiled as GQ magazine’s April cover star.

It serves as an interesting pivot for the notoriously introvert star. One, his feature piece, highlights is part of a broader shift happening within the man himself.

Now 34, the Charlotte native has largely achieved success on his terms – flouting the traditional means of promotion and “celebrity” in favor of carving a path that is definitively “him.”

It appears the wins he’s amassed by doing so (see: five-Platinum albums and citations as one of the greatest rappers of his generation) has seen armored Cole with a willingness to embrace what he once felt an aversion to. That and the changes in his personal life, which include getting married and becoming a father to a son.

Head below for insights into the mind of one of modern Rap’s most gifted talents…

On How Changes In His Personal Life Have Affected His Approach To His Career:

 “I never wanna do excursions. It feels like work. It’s like, I ain’t trying to get up at 6 A.M., take the three-hour drive to where we’re going hiking. [But now] I got somebody I care about saying, ‘Come on, like, we need to do this.’ I realize, like, memories come from getting out of my comfort zone—great memories.

[Relating this to work] I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m like, ‘How long am I gonna be doing this for?’ I’m starting to realize like, oh shit—let’s say I stopped this year. I would feel like I missed out on certain experiences, you know? Working with certain artists, being more collaborative, making more friends out of peers, making certain memories that I feel like if I don’t, I’m gonna regret it one day.”

On Not Being Driven By Awards:

“I’m not supposed to have a Grammy, you know what I mean? At least not right now, and maybe never. And if that happens, then that’s just how it was supposed to be.”

On The Colin Kaepernick / NFL Fall-Out & Settlement:

“Listen, justice was served. This man got his money, know what I mean? Plus, he’ll probably play again.”

On Becoming A Father:

“For a while, I felt a little weird about it. Like, nah. I felt, ‘Did I miss something?’ ‘Cause I didn’t feel the change that people talk about. And then I figured out what it was. I changed my life in order to get ready to have a family and to have a son. I literally changed my life, where I was living, the things that I was doing. I changed. So because of that, when my son came, I was ready. I already made room.”

Check out J. Cole’s latest release ‘Middle Child’ (which has thus far peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100) below…

Your thoughts?

[Photo credit: GQ /Awol Erizku]