J. Cole is one of the most established recording artists in the world, often associated with Drake and Kendrick Lamar (he risked embarrassment to step away from their rap beef). Even amidst his popularity, as part of his album rollout for his latest album, The Fall Off, he decided to sell some CDs out of the trunk of his car. He approaches strangers, asking them, “Yo, you like hip-hop?” Before he became an established artist, he sold his first mixtape by hand for $1. He writes at his blog:

So much of my heart, soul, time and effort is recorded and captured forever on The Fall-Off and it’s a joy for me to be able to ride around with my dawgs and push this the old fashion way. It’s work !! But it’s worth it. It’s a fulfilling feeling that I would really encourage every artist out there to go experience. no matter your level ! 

There’s a lot that resonates with me here. For starters, in order to help my book find more readers, I show up to events and give away copies by hand. I remember several people asking if they could send me money, which I declined, asking them to repay me by telling a friend about it. A kind person once insisted, pulled out their phone, and sent me money for a couple of copies anyway. It blew my mind how generous people can be.

This marketing campaign, which ties in so well with J. Cole’s come up story—his prologue, if you will—is going to be another reason for people to remember The Fall Off. 

It’s also a call-to-action, and permission, for every other artist—“no matter your level”—to connect with their fans and help their work find people. When you sell your work by hand, you now have the option to believe you’re doing the same kind of thing one of the biggest recording artists in the world does, to a much more focused degree. (J. Cole also gave other people permission to take artists who sell work by hand more seriously too.)

Also, a related clip from Tyler, the Creator:

P.S., J. Cole’s also doing something very interesting with his blog, The Algorithm. I wrote more about it here.