J Cole came, he saw and he conquered the heart of Nigerian music fans with a stellar performance at the Castle Night Unlocks concert
Chart topping hip-hop act, J Cole delivered a stellar performance Friday night at the Castle Light Unlocks concert alongside several top Nigerian acts.
The much anticipated event which took place at the Eko Hotels and Suites attracted quite a large turnout of young, fun loving Nigerians who came out in their numbers to catch a glimpse of the American superstar.
J Cole, who recently dropped his fifth studio album, KOD, has a large following in Nigeria with fans who have been following the progress of his career since his debut studio album, Cole World.
This was the rappers first appearance in Nigeria and it could not have come at a better time, less than two weeks after the release of his album, which has broken several chart records since its release.
The show was opened with performances from several Nigerian deejays and artistes taking turns to thrill the audience.
Themed in a 10 minute ‘versus’ mode, it brought out top performances from the likes of M.I and Ycee, Falz and Tiwa Savage.
For Wizkid, it was a night to forget as coupled with technical issues, his low energy and lack of cohesion made his performance look unplanned and disjointed.
Davido was however impressive with his set, from the selection of songs, bringing members of his crew on stage and his grand entrance is one that will leave a lasting memory on the mind of the fans.
But the night belonged to one person and the anxious crowd began to chant his name immediately after Davido left the stage.
At exactly 2.05am Saturday morning, the man of the hour took to the stage in a Nigerian jersey and delivered a standout act
Performing from his large catalog of songs from past albums like Cole World, 4YourEyezOnlyand even tracks of the new album KOD like the title track, Photograph and Motiv8, J Cole did not disappoint as his energy and crowd engagement was a delight to watch.
Lasting almost an hour, the rapper who was visibly surprised by the crowd’s reception to his songs rounded up his performance with ‘No Role Model’ , fully justifying why he is the man of the moment.
The performance will go down as one of the most memorable showings by an international artist on Nigerian soil, and it once again confirmed how much Nigerian youths embrace and have been influenced by sounds from the other side.
The night also witnessed top artists like Simi, Banky W, Ikechukwu Killz, who were there as fans of J Cole.
