J. Cole capped off his “Forest Hills Drive Tour” with a star-studded finale. After five months and 65 shows across two continents, the 30-year-old rapper returned to his hometown on Saturday (Aug. 29) for the final date of the globe-spanning trek at Crown Coliseum.
Following sets from Jeremih, YG, and Big Sean, Cole brought out Drake, who was fresh from performing with Lil Wayne in New Orleans. Drizzy served up crowd favorites like “Know Yourself” and praised Cole for being a genuine dude.
“This shit that we do, this music business, it’s tough, man. It’s tough to meet good people, real people,” said Drake. “I want to let you know something about this guy right here—this one of the realest, greatest, most genuine talented motherfu**ers I’ve ever met in my life. This my brother. I want to be at your wedding one day. We family, boy. You know that.”
Drake also took the opportunity to debut a brand new verse. “So much legal action like I’m Michael Jackson / Luckily, I’m great at avoiding distraction / I used to get no reaction, now I’m overreacting / Aww ni**a, that shit gotta go platinum,” he said before launching into “Back to Back,” as the crowd went wild.
But that wasn’t the only superstar guest of the night. The arena lit up when Cole introduced the “greatest of all time,” Jay Z. The Roc Nation mogul had the sold-out crowd on its feet with hits including “Ni**as in Paris,” “PSA,” and “FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt.”
Jay Z saluted Cole for putting the show together. “A month and a half ago, he’s like, ‘You ain’t never did anything for me. I just need one thing. I need you to come through my hometown and show love,'” said Hov. “I want you to know, he thought about this night for years. He planned this night, and I hope it’s going exactly how you like.”
“It’s perfect,” responded Cole.
Big Sean, who’s been supporting Cole on tour, also joined Jay for “Clique.”