 " Forbidden Fruit " was the last song recorded and produced by J. Cole for his second album , Born Sinner ( 2013 ) . It was recorded as a replacement for another song which Cole was forced to remove from the album 's track listing after failing to obtain sample clearance from the estate of Jimi Hendrix . The song 's production is based around a looped sample of American jazz musician Ronnie Foster 's " Mystic Brew " , which was also famously sampled by hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest on their 1993 song " Electric Relaxation " . Cole was inspired to incorporate the Foster sample into " Forbidden Fruit " after hearing " Electric Relaxation " , saying : 
