Nine best moments from Drake & J. Cole's It's All a Blur – Big as the What? Tour opening night in Tampa

Tampa's Amalie Arena reflects a college throwback atmosphere thanks to special touches made by the OVO commander. He brought in a band to start the concert and later, cheerleaders who danced along to various records, giving the football-themed set a collective feel.

With the theme of the tour focusing on the relationship between rap and sports, Drizzy invited ESPN First Take Features Stephen A. Smith to break down Drake and Cole's string of lyrical performances. Of course, Smith was flamboyant as usual, hurling insults at both men as if he were filming a live episode of his own debate show. Social media star BenDaDonn — who previously skitted with Drake on Instagram — joined in on the fun, playing the role of reporter, giving play-by-play moments, one of which included announcing the start of J. Cole's set.

On the first It's All A Blur tour, Drake opened his show with an actor playing his younger self while reading him the lyrics to “Look What Have You Done.” This time, his younger self was in a mock locker room where Drake later met him. The two shook hands during “Virginia Beach,” which finally opened the show this time.

If there's one thing about Drake, it's that he never makes the same mistake twice. The oft-heard complaint from the first It's All A Blur tour was his vocal mistakes on some records. Tonight, right out of the gate, Drake dived straight into his R&B bag and dispelled any doubts about his vocal abilities, performing “Virginia Beach,” “Marvin's Room,” “Teenage Fever,” “Feel No Ways” and “Jungle “. While it's important to note that Drake is a rapper first, his efforts to improve vocally are appreciated because someone of his stature can easily overcome these issues without caring or caring.

Throughout the night, Drake and Cole discussed how rap and sports are similar due to the competitive nature often found between the two and why they approach the genre like bloodthirsty lions.

“The rap game is a tough thing to be a part of,” Drake said. “It's kind of like sports. “You do your best to make people happy. You do your best to compete. Do your best to put food on the family table. A lot of non-gamers love to sit and talk about the game. They like to rip us off, take us off, but this show isn't really about me. It's not really about Cole. This show is about each and every one of you.”

Travis Scott showed up, kind of…

During Drake's three-song set, where he performed “MELTDOWN” and “SICKO MODE,” a giant statue of Travis Scott's head floated across the stage. Considering his ability to shoot lasers from Scott's eyes mid-performance, this prop was the coolest of the night. Other props included a giant floating bra, a replica of Drake's Air Drake plane and his colossal statue of the late Virgil Abloh, which appeared on the last tour.

One of the key takeaways from Drake's latest tour was his gift-giving ways. From giving away wallets to thousands of dollars to fans, he continued the tradition by giving two lucky attendees $10,000 each after they revealed they worked dozens of hours of overtime to attend tonight's show.

After a torrid 2023 release, J. Cole informed his fans on Friday night that he was close to completing his long-awaited album. The fall. “Right now, I'm at the end of work on this album that I've been working on for a long time,” Cole teased. “It is said The fall.”

After the crowd erupted, he asked if they liked the rap and recited his silenced verse from Lil Yachty's “The Secret Recipe.” Drake added fuel to the fire when he teased fans by admitting to listening to Cole's upcoming album before dubbing it “classic”.

Since hip-hop is currently a blood sport where beef and mayhem count for nothing, seeing Drake and Cole, two of the genre's most prominent rappers of this generation, show love to each other was remarkable. Early in their careers, rap fans pitted the two against each other, hoping a lyrical feud would lead to a seismic battle for the throne. Fortunately, neither of them fell for the bait and remained brotherly throughout their travels. Cole often called Drake “The Goat” during his performance, and the 6 God returned the love, thanking him profusely for joining his tour.

After Cole finished his set, he and Drake hugged on stage and reflected on how they've been planning to make this tour happen for years. “Thanks to my brother for something we've been talking about for a long time and it became a reality. I appreciate sharing the stage with you every time,” Drake said.

That moment later triggered a “Remember the Verse” challenge, which tested their memory during a performance of “In the Morning,” before switching to “First Person Shooter.”