Before J. Cole made his appearance on Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 and was the first artist to sign to his new Roc Nation label, the upstart rapper/producer had a much more sobering encounter with the industry mammoth.

Two years ago, when Jay-Z was working on his 2007 American Gangster album, J. Cole was determined to get a beat on the record.

The young MC took a train to the veteran's studio and waited for two hours in the rain to give Jay-Z a CD of a beat he made.

"When he finally pulled up, he had a person in the car in front of him whose job it was to get out and open Jay-Z's door," said Cole, whose real name is Jermaine Cole. "I don't even know what I said -- some stupid s--. I don't even think I formulated a real sentence."

Jay-Z wouldn't accept the CD in spite of Cole's determination. But Cole didn't let that get him down, opting instead to learn from his mistake.

"It put it in perspective of how things work," said Cole. "It fueled it more. I don't look at it like setbacks, I just look at it as steps closer. Like, 'Oh, I know better for next time, I'll never do that again.' Gotta learn."

Two years later the rapper said he is quite pleased with how things have worked out. In the past, Cole had just hoped to be signed. He had no idea that he would one day perform with Jay-Z.

In fact, Friday night's performance at the Bryce Jordan Center was Cole's biggest yet. The largest crowd he had faced before was 3,000 people as a senior in college.

After Cole's manager played one of his songs for Jay-Z, the mogul took interest in the young rapper's work. After a great meeting together, he wrote up a contract, Cole said.

Cole is currently working on his debut album, which he said will most likely be released this spring or next summer.

For the album, Cole collaborated with famed producer No I.D., who produced "Run This Town" and "D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)" for Jay-Z's latest album. The producer has also been a mentor for Kanye West and has a storied history, working with Common throughout the '90s.

No I.D. brought in a session keyboard player as well as guitarist, and the duo has already finished a couple tracks, he said.

"In my mind, I'm producing my album, but every time I get in with him, we just come up with some great music," said Cole. "But I'm trying to produce a large majority of my album."

After the album comes out, Cole said he wants to get his name out more in terms of his production and maybe try his hand at acting as well.

"I wouldn't want to be one of those corny rappers that can't act," Cole said. "My mother is an incredible actress, so if I ever need any help, I'll hit her up."