OAKLAND — As soon as J. Cole reached the stage, made up like a prison break, the orange jumpsuit-clad rapper unleashed his lyrical prowess upon the sold-out crowd. Known for his storytelling and audience engagement, J. Cole didn’t disappoint on the first night of a two-night stand at Oracle Arena.

Cole performed tracks from 4 Your Eyez Only, his latest platinum-selling album. The toured shared the album’s name. The crowd swayed and pumped their fists to songs, such as “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” “Immortal” and “Deja Vu.”

Two artists on J. Cole’s label, Dreamville, opened the show. Ari Lennox is a modern soul and R&B singer whose talents shined during a flawless set. J.I.D brought an adrenaline-packed set with extremely fast rapping that served to hype the rest of the evening.

Follow photographer Jay Demetillo at Twitter.com/asianxjay and Instagram.com/asianxjay.