By Katherine Goff

After going seven years without seeing a concert, Monday, October 4, I saw my favorite artist, rapper J.Cole, for the first time. At the beginning of 2019, my sister Ruby Goff (‘24), and I started listening to Cole’s most popular album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. People who are not fans of Cole often recognize songs from this album, since it is known for going platinum three times without any features from other artists. After listening to this album on repeat for a year, I started listening to Cole’s older albums, such as Cole World: The Sideline Story. Songs from this album frequented my playlists and soon took over my Spotify entirely. I started watching videos on YouTube of Cole performing and started saving up to buy tickets for his next tour. 

On May 14, J. Cole released his newest album, The Off-Season. About a month later, Cole posted a list on Instagram of tour dates and locations for the album. As soon as I saw the post, I called my sister and Eric McDaniel (‘22), a fellow J. Cole fan. Together, we decided that we would all purchase tickets and travel up to Washington, D.C. that Monday. 

Cole released his first album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, on September 27, 2011, over ten years ago. While the album was successful, Cole’s claim to fame was through his third album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. The album was nominated for Best Rap Album during the 58th Grammy Awards, and although Cole did not win, he later won Best Rap Song for “a lot” in 2019. Now having performed over 700 concerts, Cole has gained the title of being one of the most influential rappers in the industry. 

As soon as the tickets went on sale for The Off-Season Tour, I jumped on my computer to try and find the best seats for the cheapest price. After calling McDaniel a mere five times and refreshing my browser over and over, I finally found the perfect seats.

Fans lighting up the Capital One Arena. Photo credit: Katherine Goff.

Four months later, we finally arrived at the concert at the Capital One Arena. When waiting in line outside, we were not required to wear masks, but once we stepped inside and headed towards our seats, security guards asked that we put them on. Rules regarding vaccination status vary from venue to venue; however, we were never asked to show our vaccination cards or proof of a negative COVID test. McDaniel (‘22) stated that “it felt odd seeing an arena packed shoulder-to-shoulder, but it did bring back the sense of normal life.”

The show was scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. However, after reading reviews from Ticketmaster, I feared that Cole would not come out until 11:00 p.m. In order to make time go by, we decided to purchase overpriced shirts, sweatshirts, and snacks. We settled back into our seats, anticipating another two hours of waiting, but were shocked when we were greeted by Morray, one of J. Cole’s opening performers. He performed six songs, including his most popular song, “Quicksand.” His music is similar to Cole’s but incorporates more singing than rapping. 

21 Savage performing. Photo credit: Katherine Goff.

Only 30 minutes later, 21 Savage arrived on stage to perform a few of his songs. Although I do not consider myself an avid listener of 21, I do enjoy some of his songs and have become more familiar with his music over the past few months. He sang some of his older, more popular songs, but surprised the crowd by performing his feature from one of Drake’s newest songs, “Knife Talk.” 21 Savage’s performance brought energy to the arena, and I thought he was an exceptional introduction to Cole.

Unlike any other concert I have been to, I never felt like I was waiting for an extensive period of time. After 21 wrapped up, internet comedian Druski performed for the crowd. Laughter echoed through the arena as Druski danced, sang, and cracked jokes. His act was relatively short, and McDaniel believes that “he got the crowd in a good mood before J. Cole came out.” As he left the stage, the lights dropped, and a video of Cole in the dressing room played on the big screen. 

One of my favorite moments during a concert is when the artist appears on stage for the first time. When J. Cole walked on stage, I felt a rush of adrenaline and excitement fall over me. It is a surreal feeling when you finally see an artist in person. All I can think during these moments is, “They are actually real.” As Cole sang his first song, a massive basketball net blew up in flames behind him. The fire reflected a red tint throughout the entire arena and lit up Cole from behind. As Cole closed out his first song, my nervous adrenaline seemed to go away.

Cole performing in front of a flaming basketball hoop. Photo credit: J. Cole

Cole explained to the crowd how he sees concerts as a “safe space” to share his music in a positive light. He mentioned how artists perform their most popular songs because they excite the crowd, but he believes in sharing songs that are most important to him. So Cole performed older songs, such as “Nobody’s Perfect” and “Back to the Topic,” to emphasize his point. 

Alongside those two songs, Cole mainly performed songs from The Off-Season album. For example, he began the concert with “9 5 . s o u t h” and followed with “a m a r i” and “a p p l y i n g . p r e s s u r e.” 

As I looked to my left and right, I saw fellow concert-goers rapping along with every song, word for word. It is an amazing feeling to be surrounded by people with the same interests as you. The concert went relatively quick; I remember looking down at my phone and being surprised when it was already 10:45 p.m. 

Towards the end of the concert, Cole performed his most popular song, “No Role Modelz.” Ruby exclaimed, “When I heard the beginning of the song come on, I was ecstatic. ‘No Role Modelz’ was the first song I had ever heard from J. Cole,” and McDaniel  knew “every word to [the song], and so did the majority of the crowd.” 

I could feel myself losing my voice and becoming more and more tired by the minute, but when Cole performed his last song, “MIDDLE CHILD,” I gained a second wave of energy. 

Jordan Rose of Variety had a similar experience when attending Cole’s show in Brooklyn. She explains that “as concert-goers exited the Barclays Center, one could still hear Cole’s lyrics being murmured by fans making their way home.”  

After the concert ended, I fell into what is known as post-concert depression. However, in the days following the concert, I listened to J. Cole repeatedly and replayed the concert over and over in my head. If Cole ever visits Washington, D.C. again, you will be sure to find me somewhere in the crowd. 

Featured image credit: J. Cole.