J Cole Shames Police At Brisbane Show

American hip-hop artist J Cole hit Riverstage in Brisbane on Saturday night to play for a sea of devoted fans of all ages.

The night was off to an early start with Ari Lennox kicking things off at 6:20pm. Earth Gang played an energetic set not long after, drawing a large crowd. They also came back to the stage during J.I.D's set to play 'Meditation' together. BAS took things up a step while the rain kept at bay before J Cole took the stage just after 8:00pm.

Also known as Jermaine Lamarr Cole, J Cole was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit with a prison-bar back drop behind him. Despite being the '4 Your Eyez Only' tour, he also played a large collection of older hits including 'No Role Modelz', 'A Tale Of 2 Citiez' and 'Wet Dreamz'.

Ari Lennox made her way back out onto the stage to join J Cole for their single 'Change' while other highlights from his set included 'Foldin' Clothes' and 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'. J Cole took as many chances as he could to thank his OG fans that had been there since day one reminding the audience that the last time he was in Australia was when he supported Eminem in 2014 for the Rapture tour with Kendrick Lamar and 360.

Right before he played 'Neighbors', he told the story of how he was raided by police. This got the crowd cheering "f*ck the police", right in front of police and Riverstage security guards.

The hostility didn't last long as J Cole jumped straight into the next track but it was another reminder of police brutality and racism which were consistent messages throughout his show. Although the prison theme was cool and powerful, I was disappointed I couldn't see and appreciate the live band more. From what I heard, they were a pretty talented bunch.

The crowd of both young and old J Cole fans didn't leave disappointed after J Cole made it back on stage for a two-song encore.

Photos: Jacob Pedersen