Maybe when J. Cole told us he had “no role models to speak of” he was telling the truth.

Cole, who prides himself in historically not being somebody who partakes in drinking, smoking, or any “extracurricular activities” recently admitted that as a 6-year-old he was smoking cigarettes on a regular basis. This mostly happened as a result of hanging out with his older brother, who hung out with some of the teenage neighborhood kids, and of course, Cole wanted to look and be cool like his peers.

Well, this all came to an end when he was eventually caught and confronted by his mother, what he describes as a “life-changing moment”.

“This was the life-changing moment right here because I saw her face. When she smelled cigarettes on my breath, her face was like…it was heartbroken. It was disbelief, it was crushed. I remember the look on her face. She was like, ‘You have been smoking!’ It hit her, that her baby who’s six, a) is capable of smoking cigarettes. And b) capable of lying dead to her face about it.”

The realization for Cole? That his actions can have a profound affect on others. I think it’s safe to say he still carries himself with that in mind to this day, as Cole as regularly been one of the most uplifting and down to Earth artists since his career started.