J. Cole Confirms He’s Married With Child, Talks ‘4 Your Eyez Only’ Documentary

Outside of releasing four platinum-selling albums, J. Cole stays out of the spotlight as much as possible. In a recent interview with The New York Times, the North Carolina rapper explains why he keeps the attention on his work and not on his private life.

For the first time ever, Cole reveals that he is indeed married to wife, Melissa, and they have a new baby but would not share the gender or name of the child. He then goes on to explains why he avoids certain parts of fame.

"The other side, it’s what we grow up believing that we need and want. It’s everybody’s dream,” he states. “Who doesn’t want the pick of the litter on this, that and the third? Money, women, cars. And beyond all of that -- which I really wasn’t into -- praise...It’s addictive. To recognize it, it was the first step. I had to recognize, well, where’s the fear coming from?”

Cole, who reportedly now owns all of his master recordings of his albums, also moved to his hometown of Fayetteville, N.C., to live a normal life and develop his recording label, Dreamville. He also filmed a documentary, J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only, an hourlong project that combines footage of the rapper's travels to various cities through the Midwest and the South that have deeply affected him.

In the film, Cole visits Baton Rouge, La., Ferguson, Mo., Atlanta, Fayetteville, N.C., and his father’s hometown of Jonesboro, Ark., to talk with residents about the problems they face on a daily basis. “I felt like it would be mad powerful for black people to see black people talking to each other. And you see a rapper who’s considered one of the biggest in the game, just listening," he says about the film.

“See how human they are, and see black men walk around with their daughters, and get a whole different perspective," he added. “If I’m listening, why can’t you listen?”

J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only will premiere tonight (April 15) at 10PM ET on HBO.