J. Cole

J. Cole is sometimes an underappreciated artist and I believe that the astuteness of his lyrics are not given enough credit. As a huge fan, I knew I couldn’t miss his live performance in London (December 2013) as soon as I heard of it. At the Hammersmith Apollo, the anxiety of the fans was notorious. After jamming to hot hip-hop tracks with Tim Westwood in the pre-show, it was nice to see another Dreamville member doing his thing as Bas stepped on stage. For a rap artist, Cole made quite a big entrance, which included great lighting and some amazing background singers. In this concert, he sang most of the “Born Sinner” tracks (“Crooked Smile,” “Power Trip,” “She Knows" and “Forbidden Fruit” – to name a few,) his latest album at the time of the event, which was expected by the fans. But that was far from being his setlist. He managed to include hits from his first album as well as songs from his mixtapes, which were even better received from the audience. Although some rappers tend to not sing the whole tracks or skip the chorus vocals, Cole gave it all and sang every verse, keeping the energy high. One of the most memorable moments was when he started singing “Light Please” in a very calm ambient, giving room for the fans who followed him from the start to sing along. But what really marked me in his show was not only his honest and down-to-earth talks in between songs, but the fact he gave the fans a chance to choose extra songs. As a result, he sang a few unexpected tracks like “Back to the Topic” from a mixtape and also “Is She Gon Pop” from the latest album. In sum, J. Cole didn’t disappoint at all and totally made my trip worthwhile. In fact, he made me want to keep following his work and be attentive to future shows.