J. Cole Takes Fans Down Memory Lane At ‘Dollar And A Dream Tour’ NYC Show

Last night, J. Cole's highly anticipated second installment of the Dollar And A Dream Tour touched down in his second home, NYC, at the Highline Ballroom. Created to celebrate the five-year-anniversary of his epic career-changing mixtape, The Warm Up, the tour offered fans a show filled with classic hits all for a $1.

Anticipation turned into desperation as fans anxiously waited for Cole to release the venue information for last night's show. For each city's performance, the North Carolina native has decided to disclose last minute vital show information via Twitter in order to create a first-come-first-serve system for tickets. Despite the pouring rain, a line stretched around the corner of the Highline Ballroom and continued to grow by the minute, as fans continued to join the line in hopes of securing an unforgettable J. Cole experience. Trying to accommodate his loyal fans, Cole added a second show at the Highline Ballroom to follow is initial performance and you guessed it, they both sold out!

The night kicked off with opening performances by Dreamville's own Bas, Omen and newly signed west coast artist, Cozz. Fans quickly fell into a trance as the bass blared through the speakers during Cole's signees' performances, bobbing their heads while simultaneously throwing their hands in the air to the music. Soon after the newbies on Cole's imprint wrapped up, the lights soon faded to black and a calm silence spread across the room, as if each fan knew to take an abrupt break to prepare themselves for the man they'd been attentively waiting to hit the stage. Neon lights popped up on the screen spelling out the words "Dollar And A Dream"...it was time. The crowd exploded with excitement. With mic in hand ready to do damage, J. Cole basked in the screams and applause delivered by fans when he graced the stage.

J. Cole warned the sea of fans, if they came there looking for radio hits like "Can't Get Enough" or "Power Trip" then this wasn't the show for them. "This is strictly about The Warm Up," he added. Cole opened his set the same way he opened his second official mixtape, with "Intro (The Warm Up)". The energy was on high from then on. Cole went on to perform some cult classic hits like "Grown Simba" and "Dollar and a Dream II". As Cole transitioned to the next song, he asked the crowd if there were any females in the audience that knew The Warm Up word-for-word. One nervous yet slightly confident girl made her way on stage with the Roc Nation artist and somehow it seemed like every audience member knew which song was coming up next; "Dreams". The roaring crowd cheered even louder when they noticed her spitting every line from the song alongside Cole and immediately started singing the song with them.

Despite the tempo of the songs played, fans remained hype as ever continuing to mouth each verse the rapper delivered. Although it often became hard to determine which track the the crowd favored more, the highlighted songs of the night generated by the most cheers were "Lights Please", "Dead Presidents II", "Ladies", "Losing My Balance" and "Last Call". The love generated from the audience was easily transcended to Cole as smiles and grins covered his face while performing the selected songs.

J. Cole closed the show with some more mainstream songs that also had the whole room jumping, even though he advised members of the audience these records would not be heard. Leaving us with songs that even the newest of J. Cole fans would know, like "Can't Get Enough", "Power Trip" and "She Knows". Overall, the show was one for the books! Walking out of the venue, there wasn't an audience member who didn't seem pleased with his performance. Supplying feel good energy and keeping the crowd entertained comes easily for J. Cole. As he continues to celebrate the fifth anniversary of The Warm Up, the likelihood of Cole selling out the rest of his "Dollar And A Dream Tour" is looking strong.