The curtain fell and the stage was transformed into a prison yard where massive grey brick walls dominated, topped with barbed wired and completed with an ubiquitous bench press rack. The railings on the prison cell-door rattled and were pulled back. Jermaine Cole strode out onto the stage greeted by manic applause. The lights shined solely on him, his hands clasped together, dreadlocks obscuring his face, he wore a bright orange full-body prison jumpsuit. This was a long-awaited moment for those of the Cole world in Ireland.
A 32 year-old rapper from North Carolina, J Cole is a modern pioneer of what has been labelled “conscious rap”. A singular phenomenon, Cole is a self-taught pianist, producer, composer, director, entrepreneur and philanthropist. In Dublin, on the final leg of a sold-out world-tour, his performance was near flawless. Label mate Ari Lennox opened the show, loosening up an anxiously expectant crowd. The time then came for Cole to take centre stage. Accompanied by a loud live band and DJ, Cole’s opening line from the first song on his set-list, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, could be felt as much as heard. The crowd plunged into rapture. Live bands are rare for hip-hop shows: we felt the veritable kick of a bass-drum, the euphoric tug of guitar solos and the surreal waves of an electric piano. All of it was enhanced by a blinding light and maniacal DJ/drummer duo.
Cole then immediately launched into “Ville Mentality”, and the crowd followed suit. He marched the length of the stage for tracks “Déjà vu” and “Immortal” and the crowd shook the arena in response. Leaving fans with a feeling of familiarity, these opening songs are the opening tracks of his album, 4 Your Eyez Only, after which the tour is named. As with the album, the experience presented a layered exploration of life through the eyes of Cole and the fictional charachter James MacMillan Jr.
“Changes” was a memorable performance, as Cole allowed Lennox and band members free reign. The audience emphatically responded to the gun-shot-drop in “Tale of 2 Citiez”. The energy exuded by the band was transmitted into the audience throughout the performance. The crowd was ecstatic, people were quite literally being crushed and trampled, leading Cole to plead with the audience to calm down. Cole’s ability to connect with his audience was evident, as he stepped back from the mic at times, to let the crowd happily destroy their vocal chords, spitting his own lyrics back at him.
In perfect contrast to the madness were the moments of reflection, Cole sat centre stage, intimately addressing the crowd. Performances of “Love Yours” and “Foldin Clothes” were deliberations on life, experiences of love, marriage, disillusion with fame, and with racism. Cole showed footage of SWAT teams infiltrating his home, expecting to find a drug den after being misinformed by neighbours, asking the crowd why they thought it had happened. When he rapped the words “the neighbours think I’m selling dope” from his hit “Neighbors”, the crowd eagerly responded “fuck ‘em – motherfucker I am”.
Cole’s performance at the Three Arena showcased his admirable development as an artist. Avid Irish Cole fans caught him first in an intimate Vicar Street gig in 2013, back then his was relatively unknown. Four short years, two platinum albums and one beard later, Cole fills the Three Arena. He shared a personal anecdote with us Irish fans: his great-grandmother travelled to New York 90 years ago from Ireland. So for Jermaine Lamarr Cole, this is was a homecoming. For our eyes only.
