Jermaine Cole, also known as rapper J Cole, opens up to the Wall Street Journal’s Lee Hawkins about his long journey to the top of the music industry, helped by his mentor Jay-Z and his formal education as a magna cum laude graduate of St. John’s University in New York. As part of the discussion, he discusses how he landed his record deal, his controversial autism comments, allegations that he and Jay-z are part of a powerful ‘illuminati’ subculture, Trayvon Martin, his views on race and black America, and his rivalry with Kanye West.