J. Cole shows love to the Alamo City

Written and photos Josh Rush

J. Cole shows love to the Alamo City during The Fall Off Tour

“Y’all come from a real great American city,” J. Cole told the crowd. 

J. Cole returned to San Antonio, TX after stopping by the Countdown City with Drake in 2024. His performance on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2026, in which he wore a cowboy hat, was the first of six shows in the Lone Star State. 

The energy was electric when the 41-year-old rapper emerged from the crowd and made his way to the stage while simultaneously performing “39 Intro.” The crowd waved the complimentary white towels time and time again as the two-time Grammy winner performed songs from throughout his career. 

J. Cole acknowledged the culture of the Alamo City, “Y’all just get to witness greatness.”  The well known NBA fan mentioned Spurs dynasties consisting of Hall of Famers Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, David Robinson and the reigning NBA DPOY Victor Wembanyama,  “Shoutout to the (expletive) alien.” He also mentioned the 22-year-old superstar on his most recent album, “Tryna to make a legal dollar seem harder than guarding Wemby."

Cole guided a room full of approximately 19,000 people to sing hit songs “No Role Modelz” and “Power Trip”bar for bar before closing the set with “Quik Stop.” The screen zoomed in on Cole’s face as he pulled the microphone closer to his face and rapped, “This life is more than just rap, more than the (expletive) you scrape / More than the riches you stack, see, it's the difference you make / Yeah, it's the difference you make / Yeah, it's the difference you make.”