J. Cole Spotted At Training Center In Rwanda

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 20223.9K Views

J. Cole is making his hoop dreams a reality.

J. Cole might have one of the most interesting roll-outs of any rapper in the past few years. The upcoming release of The Off-Season will be followed by his debut in the Basketball Africa League where he will be playing for Rwanda's Patriots B.B.C. Over the past few days, there have been candid glimpses of the rapper's preparation for his first game.

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On Saturday, J. Cole will make his first appearance in the league against Nigeria. A photo of the rapper emerged on the timeline, masked up in a selfie with a Patriots long-sleeve on. There's been other footage of the rapper on the court that surfaced this week.

Cementing his status as a now-pro basketball player, the rapper graced the cover of SLAM as the first artist to ever have a solo feature. In the cover, he explained that his new album was a way for him to challenge himself by using the discipline of basketball. "The Off-Season symbolizes the work that it takes to get to the highest height," he said. "The Off-Season represents the many hours and months and years it took to get to top form.”

Ahead of the release of J. Cole's upcoming album, he offered a teaser with the release of "interlude." He has yet to drop the full tracklist but we'll keep you updated when he does.

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About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.

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