When American Rap Star, J Cole Thrilled Lagosians At Castle Lite ‘Unlocks’ Concert

FUNSHO AROGUNDADE

On the night of Friday, April 27, the multi-platinum selling American rapper, Jermaine Lamarr Cole popularly known as J Cole, tore off the roof of Convention Centre of Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos with his epic performance at the much anticipated Castle Lite Unlocks Concert.

With thousands of ecstatic fans in attendance, the concert also saw ground breaking performances by some of Nigeria’s finest including Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, MI, Falz the Badh Guy and Davido.

The concert started with a 10-minute deejay battle amongst Nigeria’s top DJs including DJ Obi, DJ Xclusive, DJ Neptune and Cool DJ Jimmy Jatt, on the wheels of steel and delivered performances that thrilled the audience.

The theme of the night, ice cold, was replicated in the décor and aesthetics of the stage and the entire hall giving the feeling of being in a gigantic freezer.

Then the digital stage began the count-down and there was an explosion of colourful lights, beautiful sounds with electrifying melody coming out from the massive speakers hanging from the ceiling in strategic places around the hall.

The Castle Lite Unlocks is a music experience that brings international artists onto African shores, giving consumers the most progressive and immersive music experience, with both local and international acts performing on one Extra Cold Stage.

And the moment came with the lights dimmed and audience restive with chants of “J Cole”, “J Cole” rending the air, the dreadlocked rap god appeared on stage dressed in Nigeria colours, soaking in all the mad love he was receiving from the audience.

He bellowed, “What’s up Lagos, and the crowd went wild.

Performing for the first time in Nigeria, the Dreamville top act apologized for not coming to Nigeria sooner.

He later charmed the audience with numbers of hit tracks from his rich repertoire which included Can’t Get Enough from his studio debut album, Cole World, as well as Role Modelz, Apparently, Wet Dream from his recent platinum-selling album 2014, Forest Hills Drive, Deja Vu, Immortal, Crooked Smile, Power Trip, Neighbors and Work Out.

The excitement in the air was palpable as fans rushed towards the stage dancing to the tunes.

Very interestingly, J Cole further captivated the hearts of the audience by performing all the songs from his latest and fifth studio album, KOD, for the very first time in Nigeria.

The rapper was shocked to know that he had solid fans around this part of the world as many of the attendees have mastered the lyrics of many of his songs including those in the new album which only clocked a week that last Friday.

The new album, released on Friday April 20, contains 11 tracks including ATM, Brackets and Motiv8.

J Cole has gone platinum twice despite not having featured guest artistes on his albums.

KOD looks to be following the same route.

Already, KOD has broken Apple Music’s record for streams in the first 24 hours in the United States with 64.5 million streams on its first day.

Spotify, music video streaming service confirmed in a tweet that KOD was streamed 36.6 million times in the US in the first 24 hours where it also broke the record for most first-day streams in the US for an album.

It was such an illustrious spectacle that was on parade in Lagos.

In keeping with standards the brand is known for, the entire hall was transformed into a stage worthy of any world-class act.

All through that Friday night till early Saturday, widespread reactions from different social media platform particularly tweets and Instagram videos shows that those lucky fun seekers who attended the concert had maximum fun all the way.

The high energy concert was anchored by popular OAP, Do2dTun, and one of South Africa’s finest entertainment personalities, Pearl Thusi.

Speaking to journalists at the once-in-a-lifetime Extra Cold experience, Marketing Director, AB InBev Nigeria, Arne Rust said, “Innovation is what drives Castle Lite as the brand is always at the forefront of technology, making beer drinking easier and fun in every space. As a result, our innovation approach is geared at unlocking new spaces for consumers to enjoy Castle Lite.

“Also, Nigerian music has over the years showcased its innovative, progressive and extremely expressive streak. This explains why we have this rich assemblage of Nigerian music stars who push boundaries and do things differently like Castle Lite.”

Contributing, Franscoe Bouwer, Castle Lite Marketing Manager, said; “Castle Lite breaks boundaries and music is a natural fit with the brand’s DNA. We also appreciate the fact that it represents the biggest passion point for our consumers’ lives, hence we are always committed to unlocking memorable fan experiences and creating shared value for all our consumers with concerts like this.”

Also speaking on the concert, Jumoke Okikiolu, Consumer Connections Manager said, “It has been an unbelievable evening with the best of Nigerian hip-hop on display. This is what happens when Castle Lite joins forces with progressive artistes who are currently game changers. All our consumers here today have had an extraordinary experience and we are proud to have provided a platform for this incredible mix of music to flourish.”

Castle Lite, since 2011, is renowned for bringing music heavyweights to the Continent.

So far, Drake, Kanye West, Timbaland, Bryson Tiller, Travis Scott, Wiz Khalifa, Nas and Chance the Rapper have toured Africa courtesy of Castle Lite and allowed the stars to share the spotlight with local artistes on the Unlocks platform.