From playing the sidelines to being one of the most popular MCs in hip-hop, J. Cole's rise to prominence has been a testament for staying the course and servicing his fans. Those same supporters have rewarded Cole by pitching in to make sure his 2014 Forest Hills Drive album received the support it deserved, which has resulted in over one million units sold. The rapper earns the first platinum LP in his career.

Released in December, the campaign for 2014 Forest Hills Drive was unique in many ways. The project didn't have any guest features, making it the first album in over 25 years to achieve platinum status with that distinction, plus Cole used grassroots tactics to engage his fans by inviting them to his childhood home to hear the effort, among other personal touches that are rarely important to artists of J. Cole's caliber.

Aside from this major milestone in his career, the North Carolina native has also signed on as one of the owners of Jay Z's much talked about new streaming service, TIDAL. This serves as evidence that Cole may have plans of following his Roc Nation mentor and bolster his business portfolio. While we don't know what the future holds for Jermaine as far as side ventures, what we can tell you is that he is one of the brightest and promising stars in music today. In the words of the late great Big L, he's "platinum plus."

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