The Warm Up

The Warm Up is the second official mixtape from Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper J. Cole. It was released on June 15, 2009. J. Cole produced the majority of the mixtape with help from Elite, and Syience. The mixtape has been viewed over 3,100,000 times, streamed over 451,000 times, and downloaded over 700,000 times on DatPiff. The mixtape went Double Platinum on DatPiff.

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Background

In November, the single "Lights Please" was released. It was met with great critical acclaim, and caught the attention of rap mogul JAY Z. In December 2008, J. Cole dropped the mixtape "The Warm Up To The Warm Up".^[5] This mixtape was released as promotion for "The Warm Up". It included many songs that would make the final cut such as “Grown Simba”, “Dollar And A Dream II”, "'Til Infinity" and the original version of “In The Morning” - a song that would later be remixed and included on Friday Night Lights. Then, in January 2009, Cole released the promotional single "I Got It".^[6]

Reception

J. Cole was famously signed to Roc Nation after Jay-Z heard the track "Lights Please" prior to the release of the mixtape. ^[7] In August 2010 J. Cole, was awarded the UMA Male Artist of the Year thanks to his heralded The Warm Up mixtape. He was awarded the first ever Sucker Free Summit Who's Got Next in 2010 because of the mixtape.^[8] On June 26, 2013 J. Cole announced that he would be re-releasing The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights for retail sale, in order to give them the push they deserved.^[9]

In his review for MSN Music, music critic Robert Christgau gave the mixtape a two-star honorable mention,^[1] indicating a "likable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well enjoy."^[10] He cited "World Is Empty" and "Get Away" as highlights and quipped, "He's so talented you can hear how much he wants it, so talented you wince every time he shoots himself in the foot, e.g. 'Put some chains on my niggaz like I own slaves'".^[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by J. Cole

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro (The Warm Up)"	J. Cole	1:47
2.	"Welcome"	Cole	2:20
3.	"Can I Live"	Syience	3:21
4.	"Grown Simba"	Cole	3:52
5.	"Just To Get By"	Kanye West	1:37
6.	"Lights Please"	Cole	4:27
7.	"Dead Presidents II"	Ski Beatz	3:34
8.	"I Get Up"	Cole	4:54
9.	"World Is Empty"	Cole	2:55
10.	"Dreams" (featuring Brandon Hines)	Cole	4:25
11.	"Royal Flush"	Cole	1:27
12.	"Dollar and a Dream II"	Cole	4:21
13.	"Water Break (Interlude)"	Cole	2:19
14.	"Heartache"	Elite	3:01
15.	"Get Away"	Cole	3:17
16.	"Knock Knock"	West	1:54
17.	"Ladies" (featuring Lee Fields & The Expressions)	Cole	3:22
18.	"Til' Infinity"	A-Plus	2:11
19.	"The Badness" (featuring Omen)	Cole	2:37
20.	"Hold It Down"	Cole	4:17
21.	"Last Call"	West	7:32
22.	"Losing My Balance" (Bonus Track)	Cole	4:16
Total length:			1:09:46

Sample credits

"Grown Simba" samples "Overture: A Partial History of Black Music" by Mervyn Warren
"Just To Get By" samples "Get By" by Talib Kweli
"Dead Presidents II" samples "Dead Presidents" by Jay-Z
"World Is Empty" samples "My World Is Empty Without You" by Lee Fields & The Expressions
"Dreams" samples "Wildflower" by Hank Crawford
"Royal Flush" samples "Royal Flush" by Big Boi (which samples "Voyage to Atlantis" by The Isley Brothers)
"Water Break" samples "I Shot Ya" by LL Cool J and "Warning" by The Notorious B.I.G.
"Heartache" samples *"Born to Live with Heartache" by Mary Love
"Get Away" samples "Cross My Heart" by Billy Stewart
"Knock Knock" samples "Knock Knock" by Monica and Kanye West
"Ladies" samples "Ladies" by Lee Fields & The Expressions
"Til' Infinity" samples "'93 'Til Infinity" by Souls of Mischief
"The Badness" samples "Sunset Drive" by Husky Rescue
"Last Call" samples "Last Call" by Kanye West
"Losing My Balance" samples "Balance" by Sara Tavares

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Christgau, Robert (July 2, 2013). "Odds and Ends 031". MSN Music. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
^ "Album of the Week: J. Cole's The Warm Up". Complex. Complex Media. June 16, 2009. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
^ Stern, Guido (August 11, 2009). "J. Cole's The Warm Up". Rap Reviews. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
^ "REVIEW: J. Cole, The Warm Up". XXL. Harris Publications. June 23, 2009. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
^ "J. Cole – (The Warm up To) the Warm up: Mixtape Sampler | 2DOPEBOYZ". Archived from the original on 2019-08-17. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
^ "J. Cole – I Got It (Prod. J. Cole) | 2DOPEBOYZ". Archived from the original on 2019-08-17. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
^ "J. Cole – (The Warm up To) the Warm up Mixtape Sampler | the Official". Archived from the original on 2019-08-17. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
^ "The 'Who's Got Next Award' Goes to J. Cole | Video | MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 2014-06-23. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
^ "News - Entertainment, Music, Movies, Celebrity". MTV News. Archived from the original on 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "CG 90s: Key to Icons". Robert Christgau. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2013.

External links

v t e J. Cole
Discography Production discography
Studio albums	Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011) Born Sinner (2013) 2014 Forest Hills Drive (2014) 4 Your Eyez Only (2016) KOD (2018) The Off-Season (2021)
Live albums	Forest Hills Drive: Live (2016)
Compilations	Revenge of the Dreamers (2014) Revenge of the Dreamers II (2015) Revenge of the Dreamers III (2019) D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape (2022)
Soundtrack albums	Creed III: The Soundtrack
EPs	Truly Yours (2013) Truly Yours 2 (2013) Lewis Street (2020)
Mixtapes	The Come Up (2007) The Warm Up (2009) Friday Night Lights (2010) Might Delete Later (2024)
Singles	"Lights Please" "Who Dat" "Work Out" "Can't Get Enough" "Nobody's Perfect" "Miss America" "Power Trip" "Crooked Smile" "Forbidden Fruit" "She Knows" "Apparently" "Wet Dreamz" "No Role Modelz" "Love Yourz" "Everybody Dies" "False Prophets" "Deja Vu" "High for Hours" "Neighbors" "KOD" "ATM" "Album of the Year (Freestyle)" "Tribe" "Off Deez" "Middle Child" "Shea Butter Baby" "Snow on tha Bluff" "The Climb Back" "Lion King on Ice" "Interlude" "My Life" "The Jackie" "Your Heart" "London" "On the Street" "The Secret Recipe"
Featured singles	"Just Begun" "All I Want Is You" "A Star Is Born" "Feel Love" "Trouble" "Only Wanna Give It to You" "Party (Remix)" "I'm On 2.0" "This Time" "Planez" "No Sleeep (Remix)" "A Lot" "The London" "Down Bad" "Poke It Out" "Johnny P's Caddy" "Scared Money" "All My Life" "First Person Shooter"
Other songs	"In the Morning" "Let Nas Down" "A Tale of 2 Citiez" "Fire Squad" "G.O.M.D." "Immortal" "Change" "Photograph" "Motiv8" "Kevin's Heart" "1985" "Under the Sun" "Sacrifices" "95 South" "Amari" "Pride Is the Devil" "Evil Ways" "7 Minute Drill"
Concert tours	4 Your Eyez Only World Tour The Off-Season Tour
Films	J. Cole: Road to Homecoming Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming Eyez J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only Dreamville Presents: Revenge Applying Pressure: The Off-Season Documentary
Related articles	Dreamville Records Dreamville Ventures Roc Nation
Category

This page was last edited on 5 April 2024, at 09:11

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