Remember back when J. Cole was in Mohammad’s crib?
Well, if you don’t, the rapper reminisced about him on his 2013 “Power Trip” record.
Who's Mohammad?
While Mohammad is known for being J. Cole’s former landlord, the two were more than just a tenant and landlord.
“He was like a family member,” Mohammad explained in a video clip shared on Twitter. “I never treated him like a tenant.”
J. Cole’s Landlord, Mohammad, Believed In Him So Much That He Let Cole Put Months Of Rent Money On Layaway. Once Cole Got Signed, He Paid Back All The Money + Interest pic.twitter.com/7Ri3QU9INk
— First Class 🏁 (@1DJFirstClass) December 22, 2022
Prior to achieving fame, the North Carolina native — born Jermaine Lamarr Cole — was a college student attending St. John’s University in Jamaica, Queens, New York.
While he resided in a townhouse with some of his closest friends, one thing that was always present was his desire to pursue music full-time.
An Unmatched Passion
His landlord, Mohammed was inspired by the “Crooked Smile” singer’s passion for his craft early on.
“When he was playing music at my home, I was listening to his beats and I was thinking that his beats were very good and I told him, ‘I’m not a musician, but I feel you’re gonna do very good.’ I told him, ‘If you have that dream, don’t give it up,'” said Mohammad in the clip.
Never Give Up On Your Dreams
Furthermore, he opened up about witnessing the highs and lows Cole experienced while working his way up to where he is today.
“Sometimes he got frustrated. I said, ‘ Don’t be frustrated. Good things come after a long journey. If you continue to keep pushing… one day that good thing will come to you,'” the New York landlord continued. “And it did happen.”
J. Cole's Net Worth
As previously reported by AfroTech, Celebrity Net Worth estimates J. Cole is worth $60 million.
Once he made it big and inked his first deal, the rapper paid Mohammad back every single dime.
“My landlord from the first apartment I ever got, kicked us out. I was looking and looking and looking and this was the only place I found with enough bedrooms for me and my homeboys from school. It wasn’t the nicest, but it was affordable,” J. Cole said in a Life & Rhymes segment with MTV, according to HipHopDX. “I took the worse room in the house because I knew everybody didn’t want to come over there. I was just like ‘Yo, what we gon’ do? We gotta go somewhere. I’m from North Carolina. I ain’t got nowhere to go. I need a spot. I’m getting this spot.’”
He continued: “So, that’s how we ended up here… My landlord Muhammad he like really believed in me. So, when my rent kept piling, he never tripped. He just let me kinda just stick around. So, when I finally got the deal, after all them years, of course I paid him back in full.”
Full Circle
Fast forward, and Mohammad could reflect on watching the same young man who once lived in his Queens property live out his wildest dreams.
“This is a big, big, big thing in my life, that I see him in the Madison Square Garden,” Mohammad exclaimed.