J. Cole Mixes Old & New With His Performance of 'Intro' & 'Friends' | BET Awards 2018 

I actually opened another RU-vid account so that I could like this twice

This man wasn’t even nominated for a Grammy...Let that sink in

You can tell from the performance that this man is involved in every aspect of the song; writing, production and proper execution. Now this is a real rapper. Among the very best, if not the best.

2pac would be proud of you J cole. Salute

He could've performed ATM or Motiv8 and hype up the whole arena but naaah he wanted to send a message!

They don't see what J.Cole is doing when they do it will be too late

J.Cole does not get the same type of Praise as Kendrick & Drake and it annoys me🙄

J Cole’s message was beautiful. It is important to heal yourself and meditate if you want to grow . I’m glad we are finally having an open discussion about mental health in the black community .

Would love to see Erykah Badu and J.Cole on a track together. 🔥🔥🔥😥

Cole is one of those rappers that you'll never see anyone say, I miss how cole used to be. Cause he's one of the realest in the game and continues to grow.

The Migos BET video performance has 1.3 mil views where as this one has under 50k. I’m not comparing or anything but real music is not being acknowledged as it should be.

Yo ppl was really still sitting down after that performance?....but they will stand for Nicki? That's so weird to me

Cole X Caesar.. legendary

People don’t fk with J Cole because he talks about real life shit that people had gone through but would rather listen to rappers talk about the life they wished they had. P.S Much love for the thumps up, but I do want to clarify that I like my fair share of the new rappers as well, i just dont understand why ppl are disrespecting J Cole so much.

You see J.Cole pleading with the crowd and that's how you know that he deeply wants this message to be received. Props to his album and song I really fell in love with this performance of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Cole is so slept on. This’ll be a performance people look back on and realize they missed out.

He wrote this for all the people that are suffering through PTSD, anxieties, the struggles thru life, depression, people like his freind (which is on the stage) Wale which suffers from bipolarism as many other rappers, actors, athletes and so on.. I was looking in the mirror at this one.. Meditate 😔

*One of my favorite artists EVER!*

His performance was so powerful. The delivery was so emotional that it got to me.

His music is medicine

Went double platinum twice and still no Grammy. That’s crazy

Sounds better than the album version.

This why he is considered as one of the "Greats"..... Pure substance on all levels 👏🏾

He wasn't just spittin... he was SPITTIN.

Are we just gonna ignore Daniel Caesar?!

Here comes lil ol' Jermaine 😎

Cole message so much clearer without a beat

Why you took so long to post this, BET?

if this song doesn’t touch your soul, you aren’t hearing the message. this song saved me. J Cole inspired me to change. If it weren’t for this song, I would still be boxed in the same mentality that destroyed me years ago. Thank you, Jermaine.

When it's all said and done, Cole will go down as one of the realest mc's.

A jazzy tune performance .. speak on it

This is hip-hop, this is on par with Brenda's got a baby by Pac

His and Meek's performance where very powerful.

This performance gave me goosebumps and brought chills down to my soul. As someone who struggled to consistently find happiness throughout my life, this song and this entire album KOD has been life for me finding my direction, re-calibrating my focus and doing more meditating than medicating. I love seeing artists use their platform to educate and strengthen communities and J. Cole has been the face of that movement the last 3-5 years in my opinion. To the 98 people who disliked this performance at this time, you obviously missed the significance behind this performance and we're better off without you or your negative energy. Choose wisely

Who's here in 2024?

Felt this shit in my soul, had me drawn in to the screen feeling every word

This is poetic, love Cole

Wale's the real MVP for staying in character👏🏾👏🏿👏🏾. I would've been bopping my head so damn hard!

Who's here after watching some 2019 BET performances?

Got chills and I am in tears... thank you for this message. RIP Mac Miller God bless everyone

Cole is a mcs mc too dope and awake

Cole is a lyrical genius 🔥🔥 🧠 🧠 🧠

Been waiting for this one!!! 😀😀😀😀😀😀 Love From South Africa! 🇿🇦🇿🇦

i’m obsessed with this i’ve watched this like 500 times in the last two hours

One of the best verses 🙌 King cole

I LOVE J.COLE!!! This was AMAZING!!!😍😍😍This made me Emotional as fuck😫😫😂 it’s just so beautiful

It's finally here... 😀😀😀 J Cole's(🐐) greatest live performance ever✊ ... 'don't medicate meditate'

I'm a huge Kendrick fan, But cole poetically killed this shit at every level

Brilliant and truthful ... filled with positive mssg and raw passion. J cole we needed you now. Thank you for this.

I've watched this an unhealthy amount of times during the period of this week...

jcoles the only one you can compare to tupac in my opinion

The Best Of This Generation But He Is Humble He Won’t Say It But I Will Cole is so versatile as an Artist Flow Lyrics Content like Come On Fam!!!

This my dude 🙏...

Love how he got wale in there. Those two got a strong bond

He deserves more respect and recognition :(

Cole just might be one of the few prophets the black community has in this era

Meditation over medication leads to preservation🌊☝ 💘

forget takin drugs jus meditate..cole has substance ,lyrism n authenticy ..great performance...choose wisely

J Cole is the greatest. His fans know what they love. artists like this never lose fans cause his message stays the same and his only agenda is to impact his followers. He might be Jesus

I wonder if Juice WRLD ever got the chance to listen to this ... Rest In Peace 🙏🏽

GOAT

Jcole video has the least views of all of em . Smh

better than hearing chun-li and rich sex , its a cole world

KOD the most direspect album last decade its cool though 20 years for now people will love it.

timeless

His music is not to impress you, it's to tell you a message that's all. You don't compare him to anybody cause his in his own lane. God bless all 🤗

Even though Kendrick Lamar is my personal favorite.. I don't want this argument of whether K. Dot or J. Cole is better. They are both too great to even put one over the other. However, I think we can all say they are leading the rap school... Somehow both old and new at once.

"I got thoughts, can't control. Got me down, got me low." That part always hit me.

Dis sound better Live den on the album it’s like u can fell it more j cole killed dis shit tho💯💯

It started with this performance for me and ended with listening and researching his entire discography.

Thank you J cole. This song helped me through addiction and staying clean. All your songs have a special place in my heart but this one resonated with me the most.

Cole you are without doubt a living legend... I've never said that about anyone before! Pure genius.

Chills 🔥

I know I'm responsible for atleast 1,000 views on this vid ...J Cole for president !

Classic. IDC what people said about KOD the message and intentions were and still are relevant. I hope more of my people grow and evolve to this level of self care

Getting goose bumps listening to this 😘😍

One of my all time favorite performances I literally watched almost everyday it's just a message of positivity

Wow!!!!! The hardest, realest verse ive heard in my life!!!!!!! #hekeptitreal

Depression and drug addiction don’t blend

And How dare ppl say Meek Mill had the best performance of that night smh

Im blown, as an addict this very album has kept me some distance to it. Never try to play it cause I knew it will hurt my cunning ego very bad. But woahhh this makes me feel positive yet in the end I’ve always knew that this is my cunning self talking, MEDITATE

Cole is as important to me as 2pac, I don't care what everybody has to say

2021 still bumpin to this, Cole and Daniel Caesar sound beautiful. I wanna cry 😭

"I been saw the problem, but stay silent cuz I aint jesus, this aint no trial if you desire, go higher please" Mm...truth

One of the most beautiful song ever written

My friends to this day have to remind me that at some point for some reason I hated cole (mind you I don't remember nor do I believe them to this day) I remember around the time when the BET awards were rolling out and advertising on TV I saw cole be slated to perform and I was like hey cool because I recently listened to ATM and was psyched to see him perform it and a few weeks later the award ceremony shows up me having forgot he was about to perform saw them introduce and was like: "oh, right...that's happening...can't wait to hear ATM" and was stunned by this performance Such a deep message such a power message conveyed no swearing (at the time I thought it was cause he didn't want to swear but not was because it was being broadcasted on national television and that type of thing doesn't swing but still I feel it was needed for that performance) to be better to not let your past or present define your current choices to not be swayed by by unrighteous mortal urges or be tempted by your demons feeding you negative messages self doubt and bad ideas I had listened to apparently before and as a kid would mumble the lyrics but here with this performance I was captivated and started falling in love with his body of work dived deep into his discography and became a huge fan And to this day my friends mock me and say that I didn't used like cole😂 Edit: this may have been better the my final English Essay and I don't know how to feel about it😅

I kinda guessed this when i first saw it but after 5 years i can say that Wale was placed there at the top not doing anything because this song was written with the intention to hit him personally. He and Cole in fact “FRIENDS” and as a fan of both i remember when Wale admitted to a slight addiction to drugs and things of that sort so he was placed here as the symbol. Cole has used music to get Wale’s attention in the past (False Prophets) and i think this was another attempt to get his friend to actually listen to his words and change his actions. Damn i love music

I have never seen a more powerful performance in my 14 years of existence

im watchin this with weed in my pocket knowing i dont need it to mentally escape i now feel guilty but will still smoke this weed i got on me

The way the drum beat goes from that smooth beat with the high-hat release during his intro hook (graduated in powder) and then he begins to rap the first verse to just the bass guitar and the bass kick, and then slowly into a muzzled drum beat, and then into a loud drum beat as he raps louder...its just SO FREAKN GOOD.

Everything is on point with this performance!!! 💯💯 especially the band 🔥🔥 the trumpet player was killing it!!! Cole performances are always passionate and he puts his heart into it 💯

for yall saying he aint get nominated for grammys and that he dont get as much praise blah blah blah... its not for praise, he could care less about a grammy at this point.. its not about that... hes a lyricist, and always will be, so the comparisons and other bs c an be dissmissed

Hearing about Mac brought me back here

If you don't get chills on this, turn it off. I told people this was the best song on the album on the first day 🙅🏾‍♀️. Even after Off Season, I still say KOD the best

Within the rap world I’d say J Cole gets a lot of praise but within the whole of music and the mainstream he’s definitely underrated

Powerful performance. This is art.

I swear it’s like he was freestylin coz he was in zone and spittin facts 💯🙌🏽✊🏽 #Coleworld

Cole is legendary!

"That strange feeling when daddy missing".Gave me straight chills .

4:00 cole really wants the best for his people