Nearly four years ago, Big K.R.I.T was debating on giving up rapping and J. Cole was nothing more than a fan still paying for tickets to A&T homecoming events.

Nearly four years ago, Big K.R.I.T was debating on giving up rapping and J. Cole was nothing more than a fan still paying for tickets to A&T homecoming events.

Four years later, these two young southern artists have joined together to put on a performance that left fans on their feet from beginning to end.

After a week of events that many people classified as bland and somewhat dry, it was nice to see that Big K.R.I.T and J. Cole, along with other artists, brought life into a show that was nearly canceled.

The show began as scheduled. Opening acts Beautiful Experience, 2 AM Club, and The Foreign Exchange all came out and kept the crowd entertained while people were trickling into the Greensboro Coliseum Complex’s White Oak Amphitheater.

The crowd enjoyed music along with free samples of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Brita water. Although the opening acts kept the crowd controlled for a couple of hours, the anticipation to see the two headliners was heavy in the air.

But before the concert even began, it nearly came to a halt when bad weather delayed the show for roughly 30-45 minutes. While fans patiently waited in their cars, event coordinators backstage were unsure if the show would go on as planned or not.

However, as quickly as the rain came, the sky cleared up and fans were allowed back to their seats. After a brief wait, the lights came on, the speakers were tested, and Big K.R.I.T walked on stage rapping one of his latest singles, “Bobbie Miles.”

Big K.R.I.T, the Mississippi native who started his music career in the early 2000s by making beats on PlayStation’s “MTV Music Generator”, showed the crowd that although he may be unknown as of now, that would not stop him from putting on a great performance.

“Some people don’t want to listen to me or other artists from the south because they think we don’t have anything to say,” K.R.I.T explained. “And honestly that’s cool because I’m here to prove all of that wrong.”

And although K.R.I.T was an opening act for J. Cole, his fan base came out in large numbers to support him. His energy level and passion for his music was just what the crowd needed after nearly being rained out.

Big K.R.I.T not only stayed true to his fan base who came out to support him, but also proved to the rest of the crowd that regardless or whether he is the headliner or the opening act, he can definitely put on a great show.

His performance consisted of songs such as “Temptation,” “4 Eva N a Day,” “Just Touched Down,” “Hometown Hero,” “Rotatin’ My Tires,” “Country S**t,” and ended with his latest single, “I Got This.”

Although K.R.I.T did a great job, the hometown hero, J. Cole, put on a performance which showed everyone that going mainstream did not change the fact that he is one great performer.

Performing with a live band behind him, the North Carolina native not only impressed fans who may have recently caught on because of his major label debut, but he also took it back and performed songs from his very first mixtape, “The Come Up.”

In addition to taking his fans through a time machine and performing his older and newer work, J. Cole even took a seat on the sideline and allowed his band and DJ to have solo performances for the crowd. This gave the crowd an opportunity to truly get a wide range of fantastic music, not just hip-hop.

Throughout his performance Cole was able to control the crowd by not only hyping everyone up in asking “Who Dat?” but he was also able to get the crowd to sway from side to side when he played slower songs such as “Lights Please.”

Overall, the energy J. Cole and his band brought to the stage left many people in the crowd satisfied. The show concluded with overwhelming cheers and applauds and even one fan throwing her underwear on stage.

What seemed to stick out about the show overall is that all of the performers are very young artists with the talent, hunger, and ability to take their craft to the next level.

The music was great and the performer’s energy was nothing short of amazing.

Rarely do you find artists who still jump into the crowd and interact with their fans during their performance, or artists who are not afraid to step aside and allow the DJ to control the crowd for a few minutes. Luckily, this show consisted of both elements.

The A&T and UNCG community may have held their heads low after the rain delayed the show, but very few fans left with negative attitudes towards the artists and their performances.

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• Trumaine McCaskill, Opinion Editor