Entertainment

Keeping Kanye company

J. Cole has a problem. “I have to tell myself not to be so competitive,” says the rapper born Jermaine Cole. “But I can’t help it — rap is a competitive sport.” Cole’s perception of hip-hop as a battle was the driving force behind his decision to push up the release date of his sophomore album, “Born Sinner,” to this Tuesday.

When he saw Kanye West tweet “June 18,” he called Jay Brown, president of the Roc Nation label, his manager Mark Pitts (who once managed the Notorious B.I.G.) and finally Roc Nation founder Jay-Z, who signed Cole in 2009.

“They tried to hit me with the ‘We don’t know,’ ” says Cole, 28. “Supposedly, I was already close to missing the [original June] 25th date.” Still, Cole got his way. And even though it’s unlikely he’ll win the first-week sales battle, his accomplishments thus far are nothing to scoff at.

His 2011 debut, “Cole World: The Sideline Story,” went to No. 1 on Billboard’s album chart in its first week. He was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2012 Grammy Awards in 2012. And “Power Trip,” the current single from “Born Sinner,” was recently voted into NPR Music’s “50 Favorite Songs of 2013 (So Far).”

Not bad for the Fayetteville, NC, native who graduated magna cum laude from St. John’s University in 2007. He chose a New York school for the express purpose of advancing his music career, and spent at least one night of his college career camped out in front of Jay’s 40/40 club, hoping for an audience with the rap star. Despite wearing a

T-shirt that read “Produce for Jay-Z or die trying,” his future boss snubbed him.

The two wouldn’t meet until Cole released his own mixtape, “The Warm Up,” which caught Jay’s ear and earned Cole the honor of being the first artist signed to Roc Nation, as well as a guest appearance on Hova’s album, “The Blueprint 3.”

Even after signing to work under his hero, Cole’s life didn’t change overnight. “I stayed in my place even after I got my deal,” he says of his room in the upstairs portion of a house in Jamaica, Queens. “It was way more affordable.”

Now he lives in Midtown, but still hasn’t settled down. On the new song “Chaining Day,” Cole raps, “I ain’t even bought a crib yet.”

As for his other accolades, Cole hardly rests on them. “I had the number 1 album, but it still isn’t Platinum,” he says. “I was nominated for a Grammy but I didn’t win. Some days I feel like it doesn’t matter, but competition is innate. It’s just in me. I can’t really do anything about it.”

jcummings@nypost.com