+ Exclusive
“The answer to this question would change depending on the phase of my life I’m in.”
Turner/Getty Images for Prime Video
Jharrel Jerome prefers Drake’s Take Care over these two J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar albums — at the moment. During an interview with VIBE, the multi-hyphenate spoke about his three idols and how they have inspired his rap career. As he talked about his recently released Rap Pack EP, he addressed online comments that he reminded fans of Drake and early Kendrick Lamar.
“[Those comparisons] make me feel like I’m 100 percent on the right path,” he excitedly admitted. “I know exactly what that means. I don’t think that means I am emulating Kendrick, or I’m copying Kendrick. I think that means I’ve got that ferocity, that tone, that confidence that he has.”
He continued, “And I’ll hold onto that as a compliment and take that as, all right, cool, let me keep sharpening my own tool. There could be a moment where I’m like, ‘I want to be my own artist,’ but this is the work that is destined for me to do to become my own artist and to become somebody who grows in, and they start saying, ‘That’s Jharrel Jerome.’”
Jerome opened up about these three artists influencing him, citing Good kid, M.A.A.D City, Take Care, and 2014 Forest Hills as major touchstones for him. When asked which album he would choose to be his favorite, he selected Drizzy’s LP — depending on what he’s going through.
“I love this question because it’s funny — the answer to this question would change depending on the phase of my life I’m in,” he explained. “So if you would’ve asked me this while we were in high school, I would’ve been telling you, ‘No, play J. Cole.’ If you would’ve asked me in college, I would’ve felt a little more sophisticated so I’d have been like, ‘Put on the Kendrick,’” he revealed.
“But now I’m dealing with fame, bro. I’m dealing with relationships, I’m dealing with girls, I’m dealing with newfound money,” he continued with a chuckle. “So you know I’m going with Take Care. I’ve honestly never related to Take Care more in my life than I have now. I heard that album when I was 16 and played it today… I played that sh*t and cried, no lie. That’s the beauty of music, man, as we grow, we hear things differently. Take Care… some of the quarrels, relationship issues, and fears that [Drake] was expressing, I feel like, ‘Damn, did he write that for me?’”
Jharrel Jerome’s Rap Pack EP is available to stream now on all major DSPs.
