However, Cole never seems to be at ease playing the heartthrob as eagerly as Drake does. Cole boasts a gold plaque for his debut album “Cole World: The Sideline Story”, a platinum plaque for the leading single “Work Out”, respect from his peers and a fanatically loyal fan base. Cole is no doubt a considerable star in his own right. This unintentional one-upmanship by the Toronto native seems to have cast a shadow over J. Unfortunately for Cole, that MC turned out to be a former child actor from Canada named Drake. The stage was set for a baby-faced MC, backed by a Hip Hop icon, with a penchant for melody, an adaptable flow and commercial appeal to tell relatable stories of relationships, heart break, failure and success. Rap’s mega-gods were comfortably settling into elder-statesmanship. Lil Wayne was assaulting the internet with what seemed like a new freestyle every day, putting every other MC’s beats in a drugged out choke hold. A spot formally filled by Kanye West, who then recently traded in his Polo shirts for the now iconic shutter shades and started paving his way to become rap’s Michael Jackson. Cole entered into Hip Hop’s consciousness at a time when the genre was desperately looking for a new voice and persona to fill the “every-man” role.
