J. Cole bears heart and soul on stage

It’s March 8. Dozens of young, eager J.Cole fans file into the Santa Ana Observatory on this mild Sunday night. Inside, the modestly sized venue is packed, seemingly beyond capacity, allowing Cole to send a message before even setting foot on stage – he is a force to be reckoned with.

Cole is touring for his recently released album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, which many critics hailed as his best project to date. With him he brought recent signees to his newly formed Dreamville label imprint, Omen, Cozz and Bas. It was clear that Cole’s Dreamville newbies were more than just opening acts – they were part of a cohesive presentation of the Dreamville sound and image.

Omen kicked the show off with material from his upcoming debut album. Billows of smoke frequently permeated the hazy blue stage as Omen bounced along with his beat. The crowd immediately showed its loyalty to Cole by giving a surprising amount of support to one of his protégés. Cozz and Bas were more aggressive performers than Omen, giving the opening group a good dynamic.

Bas concluded the opening act with a question: “Are you ready for J.Cole?” The crowd released cries of affirmation and began chanting Cole’s name. After about what seemed to be an eternity – but really turned out to be 20 minutes – the deep blue lights facing the stage flipped over and illuminated the anxious faces of the concert-goers. A tall figure emerged from the back corner of the stage to thunderous cheering; the chanting resumed.

Cole, wearing sweats and an unassuming white t-shirt with “Forest Hills Drive” written plainly on the back, smiled and thanked the crowd. He declared his appreciation for Santa Ana. “I’m coming to Staples Center in L.A. this summer,” he explained, “so tonight this is Santa Ana’s show.” The crowd showed their approval by throwing their W’s in the air. And with that, Cole went right into “Intro,” the jazzy opening of 2014 Forest Hills Drive.

Cole would perform his critically acclaimed album in its entirety, and on every song, the audience would rap right along with him. With 2014 FHD, J.Cole tries to establish himself as a top player in the rap game; the energy and sincerity with which he performs, and the pure love his audiences show him, makes his case convincing. Early in the show, Cole performed Wet Dreamz, his relatable coming-of-age tale, featuring some of Cole’s best production and story-telling. Cole rapped with fervency, but still managed to create an intimate atmosphere, as if he were simply having a passionate conversation with the crowd.

Like Cole himself, the lighting arrangement was modest throughout the whole show – Cole was the only point of focus. The lights took on a blood-orange hue halfway through the show when Cole started Fire Squad, the boldest song from FHD. Cole put on his crazy eyes and lunged onto a speaker as he called out Elvis, Macklemore, Eminem, and Iggy Azalea all in one line. The audience ate up every word with zeal and reciprocated the energy that Cole emitted.

Cole then took some time to tell his story. He talked about how he would do anything – including rapping on people’s voice machines – to get recognized. Accordingly, he diverged from the album to perform a few songs from earlier projects. The audience proved their devotion by rapping along with every word of “Light’s Please,” a track from Cole’s second mixtape released six years ago.

After two more tracks from past projects, Cole went back to FHD with “St. Tropez.” As he did for almost every track, Cole gave a bit of history for “St. Tropez,” which chronicles his first tastes of fame. By giving the audience his story, Cole made every performance seem earnest, which made his show easy to appreciate. And Cole clearly appreciates his fans just as much – he puts everything into his performances because he put everything into the music he’s performing.

The future looked bright for Cole as he rapped the album’s last song, “Note to Self.” Despite his success, he has a chip on his shoulder, and that has kept Cole one of the most energetic and honest performers of his generation.