Tony Yayo claims that before Jay-Z had the chance to sign the Fayetteville native, he was an early supporter of J. Cole and even introduced the artist to 50 Cent.
Yayo asserted that he was an early supporter of several musicians, including Max B, French Montana, Danny Brown, and Nicki Minaj, in a recent interview with VladTV. Around the two minute mark of the aforementioned video, he added, “Finding the next ones is one of my talents; it’s easy.” The former member of G-Unit remembers visiting Cole at his Connecticut house with 50, when Cole performed “Simba” from The Come Up Mixtape, Vol. 1.
In a 2013 interview with Vibe, Cole discussed the visit to 50 Cent’s house and credited former G-Unit Records CEO Sha Money XL with trying to arrange a meeting between them. He recalled that at the time, “Lights Please” and “Lost Ones” were both available, but neither song had really caught anyone’s ear.