Over the course of the past five years, J. Cole has built one of the biggest fan bases amongst the newer generation of hip-hop artists, and it all started with his mixtape The Warm-Up. Last night (July 17), the Roc Nation signee let his loyal fans in New York City pay $1 to see him perform for his Dollar And A Dream tour at the Highline Ballroom, and he didn’t disappoint.

Despite the rain, fans near and far waited hours to see Cole perform. His newest Dreamville artists Bas and Cozz opened up the show, performing some new fan-favorites including “We Made It” and “My N***a Just Made Bail.” When Cole finally hit the stage, fans lost their minds to popular tracks off the classic tape like “Grown Simba” and “Can I Live.”

The crowd seemed to have made the most noise when J. Cole performed “Lights Please,” and even let a female fan take the stage to sing Brandon Hines’ hook on “Dreams” towards the end of the first show. The crowd begged Cole to play his new classics, in particular “Power Trip;” despite his fans pleas, Cole stuck to The Warm-Up.

With an overwhelming amount of Cole-supporters, the North Carolina native added a second show to follow directly after the first. During the second set, the birthday boy Mack Wilds shocked fans with a short set in the midst of his 25th birthday celebrations. Following the epic night, Cole tweeted to his fans: “Congrats to those that got a wristband. I’m sorry to those that didn’t, I wish you could rock with me 2.”

J. Cole is currently gearing up for the rest of the Dollar And A Dream tour, which continues in Miami. – Lindsey Paul