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It’s 8 a.m. I’m in Miami and I’m panicking.
It’s the morning of J. Cole’s sold-out show at Madison Square Garden, where he’s performing the entirety of 2014 Forest Hills Drive for its 10-year anniversary, and I’m approximately 1,291 miles away from New York. Even worse, I just missed my flight after an exhausting Rolling Loud weekend. This feeling instantly brought me back to 2013, when I was just a freshman in high school, waking up with the same cold sweat and anxiety early in the morning because I knew I had to make my way from Jersey City to Manhattan to be in the best position possible for when Cole tweeted the location of the $1 tickets for his “Dollar and a Dream” show at Irving Plaza. (This was the era where rappers used to do stunts offer $1tickets.) The rap gods blessed me that day. I was able to be in the building to witness that show, which included a surprise appearance from Drake.
Like back then, nothing was going to stop me from seeing this show, and after a frantic call to United Airlines, I was on the next available flight out of Miami back to the damp streets of New York City. I listened to the live version of 2014 Forest Hills Drive that Cole dropped in 2016 during the entire flight in preparation for the night. I touched down, got back to the crib, switched fits, and went to the show to reunite with the Dreamville family and witness what was sure to be a legendary night. And just like me, it felt like everyone in the arena went out of their way to be there for Cole on this soggy-ass Monday night.
It’s been a long year for J. Cole. After the infamous “apology” at Dreamville Fest earlier this year, the general rap populace and even some Cole fans—were frustrated with his decision. But the North Carolina rapper has made it this far in his career in part because he trusts his gut. He leaned into the nostalgia around his older work and rewarded his OG fans who have been supporting him since the beginning of his career. Between his Inevitable audio series chronicling the making of classic tapes like Friday Night Lights and The Warm Up, to then dropping those projects on streaming, these moves have had ripple effects that have reminded people why they fell in love with his music in the first place. “I had this show in mind for, like, three years now,” Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad, Cole’s manager, tells me a few days before the concert. “I ran it by Cole, and he loved the idea, but the idea that I initially had for the show was to be able to do Madison Square Garden and have the whole show be just a dollar, but it was logistically impossible.”
Ib and Cole did partially achieve their goal by doing a surprise rehearsal show on the Saturday before the show and releasing the tickets “Dollar and a Dream” style and dropping the location the same day. Two thousand fourteen fans were also able to cop tickets for a dollar the day of the show.
One of my close friends and OG diehard Cole fan Regina Cho was among the few people who were able to make it to both the rehearsal and concert for a dollar. “Feeling the energy in a room full of his day one fans absolutely gave him the confidence he needed to put on the show that he did,” Regina explains about the special rehearsal show. “Especially because we knew all the words to his deep cuts.”
Cole tapped into some of his deep cuts during the MSG show that fed the diehard fans who have been following him since the beginning of his career as well. The stage design was a carbon copy of what Cole used for his Forest Hills Drive tour a decade ago, modeled off of his childhood home. He even wore the ‘Chicago' Air Jordan 1s like he did for most nights of that tour. After opening the show with the Forest Hills Drive intro and running through the entire album sequentially and performing fan-favorites like “Fire Squad” and “Wet Dreamz,” he took a break from those tracks in the middle of the show to deliver some of his mixtape b-sides like “2 Face” and “Grown Simba” off his older projects. During these moments, I can't help but wish more people were engaged for the deepcuts, rather than only showing up for his big hits. At times, it felt like I was the only person rapping these tracks word-for-word, and it left me wondering how the inflated resell ticket prices that were outside of Dreamville’s control might have impacted who was able to attend.
That’s a minor critique, however. For the most part, Cole was on his A-game. Dragging his mic stand around like the Grim Reaper with his scythe, the Dreamville commander-in-chief tore through his setlist with surgical precision. If someone were walking into this show blind, they wouldn't even be able to tell that all of these songs are a decade old with how sharp Cole was still able to perform them. Cole performing “Note to Self,” the last song on the album, was a highlight; the performance,one of the most passionate of the night, displayed the gratitude he has for his fans, with Cole giving thanks to the people who helped him reach the mountain top of rap.
Cole’s Dreamville family also showed out for him, even if they had to travel long distances to do so. JID told me he flew in straight from Dubai for the show. Earth Gang flew in from Japan for the day. Cozz was leaving early the next day back to Los Angeles. But everyone made sure they were in the building tonight to support one of the best rappers breathing.
As I was leaving the arena and heading to the after-party, fans were still waiting outside in the rain to see Cole and try and get their dollars signed. It reminded me of my days of staying out late on a school night a decade ago just to see him perform. That level of commitment is something special, and why J. Cole can sell out Madison Square Garden 15 years into his career.
English (US) ·