Review: J Cole turns it up and Wael Kfoury serenades at Abu Dhabi F1’s Beats on The Beach

American rapper J Cole, DJ Trey Smith and Lebanese crooner Wael Kfoury headlined the second day of Beats on The Beach

J.Cole at Beats on the Beach Concert, Vidhyaa for the National

The venue may have been the Abu Dhabi corniche but for the thousands of J Cole fans in the audience on Friday it was “Cole World”.

The American rapper was one of the main headliners of instalment of Beats on the Beach. He was joined the Lebanese crooner Wael Kfoury and a DJ set courtesy of Trey Smith (yes, Will Smith’s son).

Where general festival performances are normally made up of greatest-hits, Cole's kept his song selections firmly based on his latest album, last year's 2014 Forests Hill Drive. The Abu Dhabi fan base ate it all up with hands and fists in the air throughout the hour-long set.

More interestingly was the way Cole’s album translated live. Where on record the sounds were deliberately minimal and ruminative, on stage they were ramped up courtesy of his seven piece band that included three keyboard players and a guitarist.

Cole himself turned it up a notch and was in fierce form during the propulsive Fire Squad and No Role Modelz. However the approach, while keeping the fans energised, robbed some of his quieter tracks from its winning intimacy. January 28th sounded frustratingly rowdy, while the skilful storytelling of Wet Dreamz was also lost among the noise.

For Smith, it was a case of hard work paying off. His thumping set was a marked improvement from his debut UAE appearance at VIP Room last year.

Where that set was a messy collage of pop and electro – the rather unhinged performance by his sidekick and brother Jayden didn't help, either – Smith seemed more in control this time around. The well-calibrated gig transitioned smoothly from crowd favourites, such as The Fugees Ready or Not and Rihanna's B__ ch Better Have My Money to club bangers Bonk by Lazy Rich&Hot Mouth, Curbi's Rubber and the euphoric Sweet Escape by Alesso.

After all those hours of stonking beats, Kfoury's set came as a welcome relief. The Lebanese crooner kept it jovial and ever so smooth with his slick ballad-­heavy set. Oumri Kulou was a lush midnight serenade, the blissful vibe enhanced by the lilting strings. While Sar Haki's raised only a slight sweat due to its heavy percussion.

It was a serene way to end the evening, a good thing too, considering the heavy traffic that lay ahead on the way home.