J Cole, O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire - review - Music - Arts

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Until now. Last night's performance at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, one of four sold-out shows in the capital this month, was greeted with a reaction so feverish that you would have thought Jay-Z himself had come to town. The MTV Base crowd was out in force - even the bar staff were wearing baseball caps - and smartphones were held skywards as the 26-year-old strode onto the stage, backed by a DJ and two keyboard players.

Far be it from me to question the Jiggaman's judgment but it wasn't immediately clear what his protégé was bringing to the hip-hop party.

Neither as witty as Eminem nor as poetic as Nas, Cole's USP remained a mystery for the majority of his hour-long set. While there was charisma and self-belief to burn, too often he settled for those tired hip-hop platitudes: I'm the man (Who Dat); I'm incredibly good in bed (Can't Get Enough, In The Morning).

However, the college graduate did show a more thoughtful side on Lost Ones, an unflinching account of an unwanted pregnancy, while the piano-led Lights Please owed something to Jay-Z's Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem).

At the other end of the scale, Party went down a storm, though its refrain of "In Abu Dhabi, we like to party" would hardly have struck a chord with all the broke-ass mothas in the projects.

Cole finished by picking out individual members of the crowd to say goodbye to: "Hey, you up there in the glasses, farewell." As introductions go, however, this wasn't the most convincing.

J Cole