J. Cole's connection to Fayetteville remains strong
Dreamville Festival is two days away, but you can already see its founder, J. Cole's face adorning murals in downtown Fayetteville.
The Grammy Award-winning artist grew up on Forest Hills Drive in Fayetteville and has since returned to record music videos in his hometown. He also picked Raleigh for his music festival, Dreamville.
One of the murals, designed by New York native Efren Andaluz, is on the outside wall of Back-a-Round Records in downtown Fayetteville.
"The only reason I know about Fayetteville is because of J. Cole and how he puts it in his stories," Andaluz said.
Cole's love of Fayetteville was evident Monday when he sent the Dreamville Team Bus to Fayetteville State University for his recording engineers to talk to students about the recording industry.
"To see where he is now and all the things that he's doing for the community... alot of things he does, people don't really know or they don't see," said Ray Thomas, general manager of FSU's radio station.
Three Cumberland County District Court judges shared stories how Cole often sneaks into town to mentor young people on the edge of getting in serious trouble with the law.
