Drake and J. Cole’s “Big As the What?” tour certainly left fans wondering what the “What” was. The concert was great, but there were a couple of problems.
During the tour’s Columbus concert Feb. 21 at the Schottenstein Center, Drake’s setlist included songs from the beginning of his career to his most recent releases. This was the first time Drake performed in Columbus with J. Cole, another world-famous rapper, making the concert extra exciting for fans.
Rap artist Lil Durk opened the concert with four songs, two from his late friend King Von, who was killed in 2020. That made me enjoy the songs even more because I knew Lil Durk’s performance was a tribute to his late friend.
A part that I really enjoyed about the concert was that it felt like I was at a football game. He carpeted the floor of the venue with turf painted like a football field.
Another aspect that Drake organized very well was the way that Lil Durk and J. Cole walked onto the stage. They walked down from the main concourse and through the crowd while they played introduction music.
After two openers, Drake and J. Cole traded solo songs before they reunited for a performance of their new song, “First Person Shooter,” from Drake’s new album “For All the Dogs.” After that, J. Cole left the stage and Drake continued with the rest of the concert.
One aspect of the concert I did not enjoy was that they delayed the time fans were allowed to enter the venue. It was originally set for 5:30 p.m. but was pushed back to around 6:30 p.m. because of a sound issue.
Because they would not let anyone in, there were lines of thousands of people waiting outside the arena. This in turn caused the start time, which was originally set for 8 p.m., to additionally be delayed another hour. This scared a lot of fans because this has happened in the past and he canceled the concerts.
Finally, I found that Drake talked a lot, causing long breaks in between songs that made the concert needlessly longer.
The most entertaining parts of the concert came from all of the props that were used: a conveyor system on the jumbotron brought in different props depending on what song Drake was singing.
The best moment was when J. Cole played his most famous song “No Role Modelz” from the album “2014 Forest Hills Drive.”
Another facet of the concert I enjoyed was that Drake attempted to get everyone to get to know each other. He instructed audience members to turn to someone that they didn’t know and introduce themselves, showing his creative ability to engage with the crowd.
I was skeptical if this would be my first opportunity to see Drake in Columbus after he had canceled his concerts in previous months, but in the end, I had a great time.