J. Cole recently sat down with Warriors GM Bob Myers for his "Lead By Example" podcast, and during the conversation, Myers asked Cole about the dumbest thing he did as a kid. This led to J. Cole revealing that he started smoking cigarettes when he was just 6 years old, flooring Myers.
Cole explained that his mother allowed him and his brother to roam the streets at a young age, which led to him hanging with older kids that his 10-year-old brother was around. It was at this time that J. Cole started smoking, and he added, "To them, it’s funny – they’re 10 themselves – so it’s funny for themselves. Nobody’s really worried about me. They’re 10 and smoking cigarettes."
While recalling the events that followed, Cole stated, "This is going on for 2-3 weeks. One day, I’m down the street at a house where it was happening at and my brother comes up, and I asked one of our homeboys in the neighborhood, 'You got any cigarettes?'"
J. Cole explained that his brother was in disbelief, as he wasn't aware that his little brother was smoking, and after the other kids confirmed, J. Cole's brother walked away to tell their mother. However, J. Cole revealed that he wasn't afraid of his mom punishing him, because he planned to lie to her.
J. Cole's mom was one step ahead of her son, and when he came home, she smelled his breath. He then added, "This was the life-changing moment right here. I saw her face. When she smelled cigarettes on my breath, her face was like heartbroken, it was disbelief, it was crushed. It hit her. I’m the youngest of two. Her baby who is six, is A) capable of smoking cigarettes, and B) lying dead to her face about it."
