J Cole: American rapper got everything right at Lagos concert, well almost everything

J Cole held Lagos spellbound Friday night with a brilliantly staged performance

J Cole is one of the biggest names in hop hop and his visit to Lagos added to his recent momentum and advanced his plot as the leader of the new school.

This was the most anticipated event on the music calender so far this year, hip hop act J Cole was coming to Nigeria for the first time ever, coinciding with the release of his record breaking fifth studio album, 'KOD', barely a week ago.

Billed to kick off at 8pm, music lovers and young Nigerians had began to assemble at the Eko Hotel and Suites, venue of the event, as early as 5pm in anticipation of the spectacle that the night promised.

ALSO READ: J Cole shuts down Lagos concert

Kudos must go to the organizers, who had succeeded in creating a world class arrangement, top notch production and outside the dark cloud of sound troubles, that bedevils almost every Nigerian concert, this could have been a perfect night for them.

 

Taking to the stage barely minutes past the advertised time, was Dj Obi who warmed things up and when he played some J Cole songs, the reaction of the crowd was a signal to what was to come later on.

The hosts for the night were the energetic pair of Dotun and South Africa's Pearl Thumi, who did a splendid job all night.

 

From the Deejays, Obi and Xclusive to Jimmy Jatt and Neptune, who were paired in their sets to rapper, M.I who opened the night's performances again confirming why he is the Chairman with a splendid show, followed by Ycee, Tiwa Savage and Falz, then Wizkid (who had a shockingly underwhelming night) and Davido, the night was well hyped but the thousand of fans had gathered for just one person and that was J Cole.

 

 

Following a lengthy delay in making sure his set was perfect, the dreaded rapper wearing the new Super Eagles home jersey and black plants walked out on stage at some minutes past 2am to a massive roar from the crowd, who had waited patiently, chanting his name.

Like him or not, call him boring or fake deep, J Cole resonates with a large section of young music lovers worldwide.

Standing at the centre of the stage for more than a minute, his facial expressions conveyed a man who before the night perhaps under estimated the reach and impact of his five studio projects.

 

''I guess I was f***ing up by not coming to Nigeria earlier'', he said before launching into the first track of the night, 'A Tale of 2 Citiez' off the 2014 Forest Hills Drive album. The opener got a ruckus of a reaction from the audience who chanted to every line.

There was a sincere and charming joviality to his persona that gave his entire performance on the night the added spark.

 

''I don't know if you will know this song'', he kept teasing as he requested that everyone put one finger in the air as he performed 'De Javu'.

The new album was not left out of his set, as he confirmed that this was the first time he was performing any song off the project since it was released and Nigerians were treated to the tile track, KOD, Photograph and later on Motiv8.

 

Other records performed on the night were 'Neighbours' off 4 Your Eyes Only, which had the entire hall bouncing, alongside Nobody' s Perfect, Can't Get Enough and Work Out, off the Cole World album.

At this point, the crowd needed to catch their breath and he brought out Dreamville member, Bas as they jointly thrilled the crowd with the hit record, 'Housewives' and 'Lit', which Cole referred to as one of the most important songs in the Dreamville catalog.

 

As the night wore on, J Cole dished out more songs like Wet Dreams, G.O.M.D off the 2014 Forest Hills Drive, performed 'Power Trip' from the Born Sinner album before closing with 'No Role Model' from the 2014 Forest Hills Drive album.

The ease of his demeanor, stage presence and professionalism all came through on the night, Cole didn't just come out to rap to the fans, he interacted with them through his lyrics and the nights loudest cheers belonged to the young ladies on the General area floor, who rapped along to every single song that was performed.

 

Such is the power of J Cole that at 3am, when he rounded up his performance, the fans had lost track of time and were almost begging him for more. Yes, he denied us an extra time and probably penalties of his brilliant set.

And for the rapper who prior to the night had not shared any tweet relating to his presence in the country, the crowd certainly left a mark in his heart as he took to his twitter page to thank the fans.

 

It is the morning after and looking back at how weary I am as I type this, it is safe to say that J Cole had come, he had seen and he was able to conquer Lagos, all in one night.