Sunday Spotlight: J. Cole buzz has been everywhere in Fayetteville
You're a J. Cole fan, right? I feel like basically everyone in Fayetteville is these days.
If you didn't know who he was before (and it baffles me that anyone in the Ville can say that), surely you do now. His latest and purportedly last album, "The Fall-Off," was released (so appropriately) on 2-6-26.
Fayetteville went wild! Everyone, it seems, had Cole fever.
There were listening events and album release parties all over the city, including at least one attended by the man himself , who grew up Jermaine Cole on Forest Hills Drive. I saw social media posts about the album from all kinds of people and businesses and organizations. Even Bunker the Woodpecker was anxiously awaiting the album's drop.
It's a fantastic album, by the way. I came for the Fayetteville references and stayed for the musicality and insightful lyrics. Cole has a gift, and it's on full display in "The Fall-Off."
The Fayetteville Observer has been writing about J. Cole for years — before he was even famous, we published a story about his high school job as the Roller Roo mascot at Round-A-Bout Skating Center . And we've closely followed his career from its earliest days until now, when we're keeping that same energy and focus on the man who is perhaps Fayetteville's most well-known son.
We kicked off the week with a breaking news story about Cole's "The Fall-Off Tour" — he's ending the North American leg in Fayetteville on Sept. 23 . The last time he performed here was nearly 11 years ago during a sold-out show in August 2015 as part of his "Forest Hills Drive Tour."
Everyone wants to be there, but I know one person who will definitely be at the sold-out show, and that's our resident J. Cole expert.
Correspondent Rakeem "Keem" Jones has been covering Cole for The Fayetteville Observer for several years now, including at three Dreamville Festivals. Keem wrote an extensive song-by-song analysis of "The Fall-Off," which he says has been "Fayetteville's come-up." You'll definitely want to give it a read; you can find it here .
Opinion Editor Myron B. Pitts, a Fayetteville native who also has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of music, had his own take on the Cole album. He examines it through the lens of how Fayetteville residents might view the international attention Cole has brought to our city. "Cole's work in general, and 'The Fall-Off' in particular, is an homage to Fayetteville," Myron writes. "He wanted to put the city on the map in the hip-hop world and in this, what is said to be his last album, he has fully achieved the goal." You can read the full column here.
Judith Cage — you might know her as Chef Judy — spoke with The Fayetteville Observer about how a big catering order from Cole in 2012 had a life-changing effect on her business. You can read that story here.
Also in the news
The past week, of course, wasn't all J. Cole. Some of our other top stories:
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Cross Creek Mall confirmed a popular retailer is coming to the Skibo Road shopping center late next month.
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The ex-boyfriend of a Ukrainian refugee has been charged with killing her and her boyfriend , a Fort Bragg soldier, inside a Vass home on Valentine's Day.
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Fayetteville officials are again seeking a federal grant to revitalize the city's Murchison Road corridor.
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A Hope Mills man was found guilty of killing a woman in what prosecutors described as a sick fantasy he carried out with his girlfriend in 2020.
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E.E. Smith Coach Dee Hardy is now the fourth all-time winningest coach in North Carolina High School Athletic Association history.
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We also had an update on operations at the Cumberland County Animal Shelter , which has paused adoptions and owner surrenders for a month amid an outbreak of a canine respiratory virus.
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And Fort Bragg is one of four Army installations proposed as a site for a data center.
Black History Month
We're into the final week of Black History Month 2026. If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading more about this year's Future Black History Makers, a program we've partnered with Cumberland County Schools on for four years now. These 28 young people are inspiring, and they certainly give me hope for the future. You can read my column introducing the class of 2026 here .
Coming up this week
We'll have a report from a Feb. 19 Cumberland County Board of Commissioners candidate forum. And a reminder that early voting for the March 3 primary is underway through Saturday, Feb. 28. You can find more information about early voting here .
We'll also tell you what happened at a Feb. 19 town hall , where community members had the chance to share their thoughts on Cumberland County's school closure and consolidation plan.
You'll find those stories and many more at fayobserver.com .
Thank you for reading.
Email News Director Beth Hutson at bhutson@fayobserver.com with questions, comments, concerns and story ideas.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: J. Cole's tour and album and other Fayetteville Observer top stories
