FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK: WHEN J. COLE’S FALL-OFF TOUR CAME HOME TO THE VILLE
A personal recap from Zairis TéJion Miles, Editor-in-Chief of FAYNC Magazine
Man… this was one for the books. The Fall-Off Tour made its way to The Ville for the final United States stop, and I’m still thinking about the fact that we actually got to be there to document it. Not just attend it, not just watch the show but really experience the entire thing from start to finish and capture it through the lens of FAYNC Magazine. That meant a lot to me.
I knew going into this that I didn’t want to just walk into the arena, shoot a few clips, grab some photos, and call it a day. I wanted to capture the whole experience, the people, the energy, the anticipation, the city, the moments that happen before the lights even go down. So I brought the team with me. Christina Miles was holding it down with the overall content experience, I was locked in on film and video and we had to bring one of The Ville’s most fire photographers, Isaiah Jones @treesintheville, to really capture the night through photography. Everybody had their role and everybody was locked in and we were ready.
I started outside with the fans and honestly, that might've been one of my favorite parts of the entire night.
I was walking around talking to people in line, capturing them, hearing their stories, and just feeling the excitement building. People were genuinely happy to be there. Some had been listening to Cole for years. Some talked about how his music had been with them through different parts of their lives. Some were just excited that they finally got the chance to experience The Fall-Off live, right here in Fayetteville. I must say, that hit me. I say that because sometimes when you're from a city, you don't realize how big certain moments are until you step outside yourself and actually look at the people around you. I’m from Fayetteville and I’ve watched this city grow. I’ve watched artists come through here, watched our creative community continue to build, and watched Fayetteville slowly get more recognition for the culture that’s been here all along.
So standing outside the Crown Coliseum , talking to people and hearing what this night meant to them, I kept thinking, This is why we document. Years from now, somebody should be able to look back at this and feel what it was like to be here. To be in The Ville, to see the people, to feel the anticipation, to see everybody outside getting ready for a moment that meant something to them.
Then we finally got inside and from there, it was just GO!
Lights. Music. People everywhere. Cameras moving. Everybody doing their part. I was locked into film and video, trying to catch those little moments that you might miss if you're just watching the show. Christina was moving around making sure we were capturing the overall experience. Trees was somewhere in there working his magic with the camera. And I'm looking around like…MAN…. FAYNC Magazine is really here doing this.
That feeling is hard to explain because FAYNC Magazine started from an idea. A belief that Fayetteville has stories worth telling. That our creatives deserve to be seen. That our culture deserves to be documented. That the people building things here deserve a platform. Now we're standing inside a sold-out coliseum , covering one of the biggest nights Fayetteville has had in a long time.
That’s a full-circle moment and I definitely don't want to let that moment pass without saying THANK YOU to Walter C. Barnett and Felton Brown of DREAMVILLE. Thank y'all for blessing us with the opportunity to cover The Fall-Off Tour stop here in Fayetteville.
Seriously. For FAYNC Magazine, opportunities like this mean more than just getting a media credential or being in the building.
It gives us the opportunity to do what we’ve always wanted to do, Document Fayetteville while Fayetteville is making history. You trusted us to do that and we don't take that lightly. So thank you for opening that door and allowing us to bring our team in to experience and document this moment and shoutout to my team too. Christina. Trees.
Y'all already know, everybody showed up, did their part, and helped make this something that I'm proud to put the FAYNC name on. That's really what this whole thing was about for me.
Not just J. Cole not just The Fall-Off, not just a concert. It was about The Ville. The people who showed up. The stories we heard. The energy we felt. The memories we captured. And being able to say that FAYNC Magazine was there to document it. I left that night very tired, camera full, head full, and honestly just grateful.
Grateful that I get to do this.
Grateful that I get to build FAYNC.
Grateful that I get to work alongside people who believe in the vision.
And grateful that we get to capture moments like this for our city.
Because one thing about us…
We’re going to document the moments.
And this one?
Yeah.
This one was for the books.
— Zairis TéJion MilesEditor-in-Chief, FAYNC Magazine
Zairis T. Miles
Editor-in-Chief
FAYNC Magazine
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