Drake was contemplative Friday night (Feb. 2) before kicking off his It’s All A Blur – Big as the What? Tour with J. Cole.
At 7 p.m., he fired off an Instagram post alerting concertgoers in Tampa, Fla., that the doors for the Amalie Arena had finally opened. Quoting Kurupt as inspiration, Drake’s caption discussed the rigorous, competitive battles in rap and what’s lost amid that tireless pursuit of greatness. “As long as there’s competition, there will never be peace. Everyone wants to be the one,” read the quote.
For the opening night of Big as the What? Tour, Drake, and Cole inched closer to rap immortality after producing a monstrous 50-plus song setlist that left the 17,000 fans in attendance stunned.
The rap tandem threw everything but the kitchen sink as they seamlessly connected on their signature hits. With Drake leading the way with his arsenal of chart-toppers, nothing was left to chance, especially when he and Cole joined forces at the tail end of the concert. Though the lovefest between the two MCs was admirable, it didn’t change their trigger-happy moods, as they targeted their hapless peers with vigor and veracity. “I don’t like to win by five, I like to win by 45,” spewed Drake.
Embodying the spirit of first-ballot Hall of Famers, Drake and Cole’s shoot-first, ask-later mentality on their Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “First Person Shooter” proved not to be trash talk but a guarantee of what happens when two blockbuster talents with Super Bowl hype share the same stage together.
Below are Billboard’s nine best moments from the opening night of Drake and J. Cole’s It’s All A Blur – Big as the What? Tour.