Fayetteville's Two-Six Project brings Pine Forest students to J. Cole's Dreamville Festival

RALEIGH — In 2019, Fayetteville native Grant Bennett wanted to make a change for the youth in his community, so he started the Two-Six Project. 

Now, as his organization continues to grow, the Two-Six Project had the opportunity to partner with the Dreamville Foundation and bring 20 Pine Forest High School students to the Dreamville Festival in Raleigh on Saturday and Sunday.

The Two-Six Project works to develop leaders from underrepresented communities through essential programming and scholarships. 

Bennett, a Pine Forest High School graduate, said partnering with the Dreamville Foundation gave his organization a platform to converse with the students about what impacts them in the city. 

"Really trying to get into the weeds of really working with kids that are in Fayetteville was like everything for (the Pine Forest High School students)" he said. 

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For Bennett, the experience was like coming back to where he started. as he remembered being in J. Cole's music video “Who Dat," which was filmed in Fayetteville, as a kid. 

"For me, this is a very full-circle moment being able to converse with his team and just bring these kids out here," he said. "I'm just trying to pay it forward. It feels amazing, I can't lie. It took a lot of work, a lot of hours. They're excited, too, and I think that's the biggest thing, just making sure they're having a good time." 

Even though this is the first year the Two-Six project has been to the Dreamville Festival, Bennett said he hopes to continue to build a stronger partnership with the Dreamville Foundation to keep Fayetteville youth coming to the festival. 

Bennett's sister Alexis is a junior at Pine Forst High School who has helped Bennett's organization connect with youth. 

"He's had this dream and this vision to do this for a really long time, and every single year we end up doing something that's bigger and bigger," she said. 

Alexis said that as it gets bigger, she would love to help with community service outreach for the organization. 

Lael Anderson, a junior at Pine Forest High School, was hesitant to be part of the organization before he understood it.

"Once I got to know what we did and how we became leaders and everything in the community, I started to understand and get involved more," he said. 

Even though he said he was missing his track meet and track is one of his favorite sports, it meant everything for him to be at the festival. 

On Saturday, the students played the finish-the-lyric game, featuring songs by Dreamville artists, with festival attendees vying to win Two-Six Project merchandise in their booth. 

“The whole idea in it is just building something like a vibe, just getting people excited,” Bennett said. 

Staff writer Akira Kyles can be reached at akyles@gannett.com.