J. Cole (N. Carolina Study)
Ballpoint pen on paper

I drew this J. Cole portrait after living in North Carolina—when I started listening to a lot of J. Cole. Like, pretty much every project. This was made before all the Kendrick beef stuff. Simpler times.

Artistically, this one matters to me because it was my first real attempt at drawing dreadlocks, and I didn’t realize how technical that would be until I was already in it. You can’t just “draw hair.” You have to build weight, rhythm, overlap, and texture without turning it into a helmet or a mess of noodles. The whole portrait is basically me trying to solve that problem with a ballpoint pen—commit to the marks, keep the structure, and let the highlights do some of the heavy lifting.

I still like how it came out, especially the mood—quiet, grounded, a little heavy in the best way. But I also see exactly where I’d take another swing at it. Cleaner separations, more intentional shine, more depth in the layers. This one feels like the first time I proved to myself I could do it… and that I’ll probably enjoy doing it again even more now.

-PERSONAL COLLECTION-