American rapper J. Cole has recently signed with Rwandan basketball team, Patriots Basketball Club (Patriots BBC), according to ESPN's Marc J. Spear. News of the signing is reportedly set to be announced officially this Thursday with the team taking on the Nigeria River Hoopers the following Sunday. The game is part of the NBA's Basketball Africa League (BAL) which kicks off in Kigali, Rwanda on May, 16 after its inaugural season was postponed for several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

READ: The NBA's Emmanuel Mudiay on the Utah Jazz Coronavirus Saga: "It's bigger than basketball.

For those who may be surprised by what appears to be an abrupt life ambition for the seasoned and multi-award winning rapper, he recently opens up about it and at length as well. J. Cole penned a poignant letter on The Players' Tribune titledThe Audacity wherein he explains how basketball has always been his first love. An excerpt of the letter reads as follows:

"There were a lot of dudes on campus that played high school ball and some could have easily played for a low level division I team. For what it's worth, in this small basketball community of non student-athletes, I was one of the top players. I was a late bloomer, though. I played in high school, but had only started to find real confidence after my senior year was over. I was 6'3″, athletic with a high motor, and highly competitive. What I lacked in fundamentals (which was a lot), I made up for in creativity, finesse, and will power. If there was one word to describe my game at the age of 19 it was, potential."

The BAL, which was established in 2019 as the NBA's first professional league outside of North America, is set to take place between May, 16 to May, 23 with teams from Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Mozambique and several more. The league is meant to develop and promote African basketball talent at a time where Africans are generally dominating both on and off the court.

News of J. Cole's move to professional basketball comes ahead of his sixth studio albumThe Off-Season which is due to be released on May, 14. The artist has also dropped an insightful documentary film Applying Pressure: The Off-Season Documentary which is meant to accompany his upcoming album. Watch the documentary below.

J. Cole - Applying Pressure: The Off-Season Documentarywww.youtube.com