J.Cole turns childhood home into rent-free housing for single mothers

theGrio REPORT - J. Cole is giving back to his community in a very personal way.

Jan 28, 2015

J. Cole is giving back to his community in a very personal way. The North Carolina MC stopped by “The Combat Jack Show” for an in-depth interview this week. During the two-hour conversation, he revealed plans to house single mothers rent-free in his childhood home.

“My goal is to have that be a haven for families,” he said during the podcast. “Every two years, a new family will come in; they live rent-free.”

Cole, whose full name is Jermaine Lamarr Cole, said he understands what it’s like to live in poverty with his brother and mother. He originally lived on a military base when his parents were still married, but after they separated, his mother moved them to a trailer park on the outskirts of Fayetteville, N.C.

He recalls:

The neighborhood we lived in was f—ed up. I knew the energy was not right. I knew my mother was the only white lady in the neighborhood and there was no man in the house.

Eventually, his mom was able to purchase a small home for her and her sons on Forest Hills Drive, which Cole named his latest album after. Unfortunately, she lost the house due to financial hardships. Now that Cole has been able to buy it back, he wants the home he grew up in to serve a greater purpose for women in similar situations.

Cole also hopes to give children who normally live under stressful conditions a sense of peace. “The idea is that it’s a single mother with multiple kids and she’s coming from a place where all her kids is sharing a room. I want her kids to feel how I felt when we got to the house.”

Listen to the full podcast below.