Verdict: three stars.

For a rapper J Cole prefers a simple approach to performing - there are no airs and graces.

And for him it's about the music not the swagger.

Appearing on Glasgow's O2 Academy stage in an understated manner, the talented MC soaked in the crowds cheers before launching into January 28th.

Dressed in casual attire - unlike most of his bling clad contemporaries - the rapper commanded the stage as he sang the anthem dedicated to his hormonal teenage years - Wet Dreamz.

He shot to stardom after rap mogul Jay Z signed him to Roc Nation - and three albums later he is still producing the kind of music that earned him the respect from the industry in the first place.

There is no escaping that hip hop music is no longer as popular as it was several years ago in the UK.

But there is still an audience and seeing an artist as good as J Cole is a rarity.

His flow is flawless and he has created that signature J Cole tone which has had everyone from Rihanna to Keri Hilson demanding him for guest appearances.

It was his feature tracks that really got the crowd going as he performed the Drake collaboration In The Morning and his Missy Elliot duet Nobody's Perfect.

His biggest track's Can't Get Enough which featured Trey Songz rounded off his set nicely.

But the big hitters like Workout and Who Dat? were missing from the show as he choose to perform tracks from latest album Forest Hills Drive.

Perhaps the fact Forest Hills Drive was the first hip hop album to achieve platinum status since 1989 is testament to how good it is - and why it is worthy of an entire show.

And by the reaction of the crowd, they didn't mind one bit.