This is the first single by American rapper J. Cole, from his second studio album Born Sinner. The love anthem finds Cole reflecting on a teenage crush and when the now successful Roc Nation rapper returns to his hometown, he finds he is still attracted to the doe-eyed girl. The song was released to Urban contemporary radio on February 19, 2013.
Cole raps two verses, as well as co-handling hook duties on the cut with R&B singer Miguel. The rapper also self-produced the song. "I get excited about that; it's an opportunity to change things," he told MTV News. "It's almost like the first time I heard 'Cry Me a River,' Justin Timberlake. The minute that came on ... It hit you a certain kinda way. That was the exciting part."
It was the song's original sound that persuaded Cole to choose it to lead Born Sinner. "You couldn't point to any song on the radio and be like, 'This sounds like that,' " he told MTV News. "Everything about it, from the beat to even the way I'm flowing - you never really heard me rap so sleepily. I really did those verses in my crib and just loved the way they felt."
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