Here’s why J. Cole was shooting in Fayetteville last month

J. Cole, the face of Dreamville Records, saw a dream come to fruition on Thursday morning.

Announcing a multiyear partnership with Puma, the Fayetteville-raised rapper made the reveal with a tweet, posting that he had “been imagining this for 10 years” and “it’s time.”

The Grammy Award-winning artist, who grew up on Forest Hills Drive in Fayetteville, released a basketball-themed commercial for Puma’s athletic shoes titled “The DREAMER,” which will air during Sunday’s NBA All-Star game on TNT.

The theme of the short film, which was co-directed by Cole, speaks to the power of chasing a dream despite the obstacles along the way.

Adam Petrick, Puma’s global director of brand and marketing, says the partnership with Cole is “deep-rooted.”

Cole will be one of the faces of Puma Basketball, joining the likes of former Duke standout RJ Barrett, who plays for the New York Knicks, and Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers.

“He is going to be a key player in many of the things we do at Puma moving forward, and we’re excited to work with him not only on a product level but even more importantly as one of our athletes,” Petrick said in the Puma statement.

“Cole sits at the intersection of music and sport and represents everything that Puma stands for as a brand.”

Cole was seen shooting the video project in January at a basketball court by Walker-Spivey Elementary School on Fisher Street in the Old Wilmington Road area.

Reggie Raynor, a senior hooper at Northwood Temple Academy in Fayetteville who is expected to continue his career at UNC Greensboro, is featured throwing down a pair of dunks in the commercial.

“It’s really a dream come true because not everybody gets this opportunity,” Raynor said. “I’m just glad I got to see all of the hard work it takes. I know one day I will be in the same shoes as J. Cole.”

Among its highlights, the short film — which is shown through the lens of a kid’s basketball journey and correlates with footage of Cole’s journey on the court — shows Cole as a child playing one-on-one and yelling, “2-nothin” after making a shot.

Two songs, Labi Siffre’s “My Song” and Billy Joel’s “Vienna,” are played over the course of the nearly five-minute video.

It concludes with Cole missing a one-handed dunk at NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte in 2019 before showing him complete the feat in a dark gym as the spot fades to black.

“We’ll be back after these messages,” a younger Cole says as the video ends.

Puma’s latest basketball sneaker, the “Sky Dreamer,” was unveiled Thursday, and the “Sky Modern” will be available Saturday. Each is priced at $130.

The Dreamer is presented in a retro white and cream colorway, while the Modern comes in a white and navy makeup.

The shoes, which are a relaunch of the Sky LX that was worn in the 1980s, include a Dreamville “Dreamer” emblem as a nod to Cole.

Cole’s own Dreamer apparel line and footwear will follow later this year.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3519.