Bumbershoot Day 3: J. Cole Roc’s the Crowd & Drake LOVES Weezy

Written by Jake Greene. Published: Tuesday, September 7, 2010.

Monday brought hip hop back to the Main Stage at Bumbershoot after last year’s lineup dismissed the genre.  Roc Nation’s J. Cole, the Nickelodian rapper Drake, and the Queen herself, Mary J. Blige made the trip to Seattle to bring the festival’s 40th anniversary to a close.

J. Cole:

With the rain coming down on Monday (It’s Seattle, what did you expect?), most of the hip hop fans remained at home in front of their computers.  For those who dared to venture into the light drizzle,  J. Cole showed them why he has been touted the “next big thing”.  Once he hit the stage, not many in the crowd had to ask “Who Dat?”, as many rapped along to his tracks, much to the surprise of the North Carolina native.  He may not have channeled all of Hov’s on stage prowess yet, but mark my words, J. Cole is ready for the big lights.

Drake:

Drake came out to a slightly larger crowd than J. Cole, and for the first three tracks, had the crowd in the palm of his hand.  With his music made for the big crowd, and a band backing him, Drake was exciting and completely natural…and then his set took a turn for the strange. In addition to his clear infatuation with his big brother Lil Wayne, the crowd heard this name at least 50 times, Drake proceeded to bring an 18 year old girl on stage, and almost gave her the Akon treatment.  Dancing with her and kissing her on the neck, the crowd was slightly confused for a few minutes.  After this, his performance lacked energy, as he entered into all of his slower songs, which were not performed with the most confidence. Maybe he should have kept it in his pants for a few more tracks.

Mary J. Blige:

Didn’t stay for all of this set, but I saw enough to say that she is the Queen for a reason.  The vocals for this set were flawless, and Mary was dancing all over the stage for the fans that still remained in Memorial Stadium.

Photo by Nick Bulat

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