J. Cole Performs An Acapella Version Of "1985" During Dallas Concert

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 20222.9K Views

Hip hop artist J. Cole performs at the Forum on July 11, 2017 in Inglewood, California

J. Cole strips down the "K.O.D" outro for a special performance for his fans.

J. Cole came out of the blue with the release of K.O.D and took over the game by storm. The rapper gave fans a few days notice before dropping the project and fans were keen to hear how he followed up 2016's 4 Your Eyez Only. He didn't reveal too much information about the project and most of the speculation stemmed from hearsay. One track that caught ears upon the project's release is "1985" which seemingly fired shots at Lil Pump, Smokepurpp and other emerging rappers. Over the weekend, the rapper took to JMBLYA Festival to perform the track but opted out of performing over the actual track so fans could really hear every single word.

J. Cole hit the JMBLYA stage and halfway through performing "1985," the rapper stopped the track to deliver an acapella version to his fans. At the beginning of the video, Cole's seen rocking to the song on stage while the actual track plays in the background. He asks the DJ to cut the beat off before saying, "I can't rap over the vocals. This is a sin. I can't do that shit."

Hopefully, this is something he does at upcoming performances. The rapper is set to headline Rolling Loud at the end of the month and was recently tapped as a performer for Bumbershoot festival.

Peep his acapella performance below.

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About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.