J. Cole Will Executive Produce Documentary About Growing Up in North Carolina

J. Cole is currently embarking on his 62-date tour across the nation, but he's also shifting his focus to a new documentary. After releasing the documentary named after his 4 Your Eyez Only album, which dove into the daily struggles of black communities throughout the South, the "Neighbors" rapper will executive produce a new project about growing up in North Carolina.

The new documentary, which is titled Raising Bertie, will air on PBS on Aug. 28, following the lives of Reginald “Junior” Askew, David “Bud” Perry and Davonte “Dada” Harrell. The three men take us through their lives over the last six years as they grow up in rural Bertie County.

Viewers will be able to watch Junior, Bud and Dada go through their paths dealing with family, love, graduation and employment, but also the poor education system, as well as systematic racism. J. Cole is serving as executive producer for the documentary, following in the footsteps of his previous HBO project, with Margaret Byrne in the director's chair.

“I didn’t want to focus on stories of the exceptional,” Byrne said in a statement. “The truth is, I made a film about three kids I met and I cared about. The individuals in this story are representative of their community and they matter.”

You can watch Raising Bertie on PBS on Aug. 28, but for now check out the trailer for the documentary in the video below.

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