J. Cole celebrates career, 10 years of ‘2014 Forest Hills Drive’ at one-night-only show

J. Cole celebrates career, 10 years of ‘2014 Forest Hills Drive’ at one-night-only show
Simon Chasalow

J. Cole‘s in-demand one-night-only show took place Monday at Madison Square Garden to the delight of many of his fans. The event was intended to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his album 2014 Forest Hills Drive, which Cole performed in its entirety. He also took time to take in the love and support from the crowd and share some stories about various moments from throughout his career.

Cole talked about how important the MSG show was to him, especially being housed in New York City, which he referred to as his second home. As he reflected on his days living at his friend Mohammed‘s apartment in Queens, he talked about the “Momammed Crib Classics,” a coin he termed for the music he recorded there and later released. Taking a break from his FHD track list, he performed some of these classics, including “2Face,” “I Get Up” and “Grown Simba,” shocked at how many people were able to rap along.

“I just gotta do this because there’s no reason I’m supposed to be doing this song in Madison Square Garden,” he said, referring to “2Face.” “So, I have to do it.” Cole later shared some of the tracks he made after learning about what a “hit record” was, performing “Nobody’s Perfect” featuring Missy Elliott, “Work Out,” “Can’t Get Enough,” “Power Trip” with Miguel and “Planez” featuring Jeremih. He ended the show with “Love Yourz,” followed by “Note to Self.”

When exiting the stage, Cole told the crowd, “I’ll see y’all at Dreamville Festival. Hopefully I’ll have something new to perform for y’all,” hinting at his highly anticipated album, The Fall Off.

Cole’s audience included fans who were able to purchase one of the 2,014 tickets he made available at Irving Plaza Monday morning.

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