United States rapper, J. Cole is set to sign a deal and feature in the Basketball Africa League with Rwanda’s Patriots BBC
The team will play against Nigeria’s Rivers Hooper on Sunday, May 16 in an opener of the Basketball Africa League.
Speculations of the signing began over the weekend when the rapper, whose full name is Jermaine Lamarr Cole was spotted in Kigali, Rwandan Capital at the weekend.
He arrived in Kigali on Saturday, May 8 to be quarantined ahead of the Sunday’s game,
The rumor was then confirmed by the team’s coach, Alan Major, to the state broadcaster, Rwanda TV on Monday.
A report by CBS had said the 36-year-old Grammy Award winner will play three to six games this season.
Cole had at different times expressed his love for basketball. He played basketball at Sanford High School in North Carolina and was briefly a walk-on at St. John’s. He however walked out to focus on his music career.
“Sports is where it started for me,” Cole told Sports Illustrated in 2013. “It parallels my life. Rap is such a competitive thing. That’s why I have to watch sports. I got to keep up. It’s my life in just another form.”
In 2012, he also appeared in the NBA’s Celebrity All Star game which is held during the league’s annual All Star Weekend.
Twelve countries from across the African continent will have teams in the BAL: Tunisia, Egypt, Angola, Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, Algeria, Cameroon, Mali, Mozambique, Madagascar and Rwanda.
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