NBA All-Star Weekend is officially under way in Los Angeles, and Wale and J. Cole helped to kick it off with a sold-out show at the House of Blues in West Hollywood on Friday night. The Roc Nation duo treated their fans, who had braved the uncharacteristically cold and damp Southern California weather, with an amazing performance as well as a surprise guest.
Drake hit the stage during J. Cole's set to perform their salacious smash hit "In the Morning." The crowd erupted as soon as the track began to play, but it got even louder once Drake hit the stage to seduce nearly every young lady in attendance with his romantic style.
"Baby, you wintertime cold/ The night is still young, drink that dinner wine slow/ I'm trying to make the goose bumps on your inner thigh show."
J. Cole and Drake released the video for the track this past week on Valentine's Day. It features behind-the-scenes footage from their Paris stop on Drake's Lights, Dreams and Nightmares European tour. When MTV News caught up with Cole before the show, he said that video was meant to be something really organic, even though it's becoming something much bigger.
"It was really a viral video. At the end of the day, it wasn't supposed to be a Hype Williams production or nothing. I wanted it to be really organic, just to document the tour. Just to document that moment in my life, or our lives, touring Europe for the first time."
Cole said this was his first All-Star weekend, and he loved the energy it brought to the town. He has been in L.A. for two weeks now, since the Grammy Awards as well as working on his project with Kendrick Lamar. He said he hopes to play in the All-Star celebrity game next year to fulfill his hoop dreams.
Another Canadian singer hopped on the stage as well. Fellow Roc Nation artist Melanie Fiona joined Cole and Wale onstage for their first-ever performance of Wale's "Beautiful Bliss."
Wale opened his show with his usual vigor. During his set, which included tracks from his More About Nothing mixtape and Attention Deficit, the crowd roared once his collaboration with Waka Flocka and Roscoe Dash came on. But by that time, he had already cleared a space for himself to dance and shake his dreads as the crowd helped him rap. As far as he was concerned, it was business as usual, making sure the crowd had an amazing time.
"We're used to this now. We've done a lot of sold-out shows together. I just think the significance of this is it being All-Star weekend," Wale said. "I think being a quote-unquote 'real' hip-hop show, that's what makes it special."
