photo credit: roc4life

This will be the third time I’ve seen J. Cole perform. As someone who’s been a fan since The Warm Up, I’m glad to see this guy progress and become more and more huge as time progresses. His emceeing ability is second to very, very few in the “freshman” category, so it’s definitely refreshing. Anyway, I showed up late to avoid the supposed huge lines, and seeing as how there were only two acts, the recap will reflect as such.

Recap after the jump.

-grizzly


photo credit: roc4life

The first time I saw Cole was during 2010’s SXSW, ground level, to about 150 people in a small room. He held his own among many new emcees, spitting swiftly in his alotted 18 minute set. I saw him headline a “festival” at Prairie View University not but a few months ago, and while the 350ish people there had a good time, something was still missing. Turns out, it was about 1700 other people. Cole jam-packed Warehouse Live more than I had ever seen prior to last night. The stairs by the stage were packed to the max and folks surrounded the sound booth and were standing at the back exits. And at $35-45 a head, Cole and Warehouse fared well that night.

Although local upstart Lee-Lonn performed, this blogger showed up about 20 minutes too late and missed the set. In the interim, J. Cole’s esteemed DJ “Dummy” entertained the crowed with the “what’s what” in Roc-A-Fella world of hip-hop, ever so smoothly sprinkling in a Rick Ross or a Drake here and then. Around 11:00, J. Cole hit the stage and Warehouse Live all but erupted. The crowd hung on his every word, and you could barely even tell he was rockin’ the ankle boot from his recent injury.

photo credit: roc4life

J. Cole was in high spirits, flying through his extensive mixtape catalog, backed by a duo of piano/keyboard players and a drum machine. I’m assuming this is the last tour that many of these songs will be performed, as we’re currently on the cusp of his debut LP’s release. So the crowd soaked up performances of “Grown Simba,” “Higher” and “You Got It,” as he sprinkled in performances of “Who Dat,” “Work Out” and “Can’t Get Enough,” the latter two of which will show up on his debut. The typical “Houston Rap Show Bun B cameo” did in fact happen, and the crowd was treated to a quick performance of “Get Throwed.”

This was the best I had personally seen J. Cole. He fed off the crowd’s energy and it was given right back to him, as the crowd chanted for an encore – landing them performances of “I Get Up,” “Premeditated Murder” and “Farewell,” which saw Cole take a page from Jay-Z’s book and call out members of the audience before exiting and saying his goodbyes. There’s a huge career ahead for Jermaine, and it seems like everything he’s done up until this point just makes it all the more impressive.

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[SETLIST]

Looking For Trouble
Grown Simba
Before I’m Gone
It Won’t Be Long
A Star is Born
All I Want is You
Higher
God’s Gift
Work Out
You Got It
Enchanted
Lights Please
In the Morning
Can’t Get Enough
[Bun B – Get Throwed]
Who Dat
Blow Up

Encore:

I Get Up
Premeditated Murder
Farewell