Dreamville Music Festival

One year after J. Cole rocked the hip-hop world by apologizing and pulling out of the somehow still-unfurling Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef, the Grammy-winning rapper’s Dreamville Festival graced North Carolina for its fifth and final (sort of) edition from April 5-6 in Raleigh’s Dorothea Dix Park. The Thursday preceding the festival (April 3), via a press conference, the city’s festival organizers revealed that Dreamville Fest will return in the future under a new iteration, still in close collaboration with Cole.

Despite the surprising update, this year’s Dreamville Fest comfortably sat in a feeling of finality. The two-day festival’s star-studded lineup featured 21 Savage, Partynextdoor and Lil Wayne (with Hot Boys and Big Tymers) on Saturday (Apr. 5), and Cole, Tems and Erykah Badu on Sunday (Apr. 6). Additional performers included Keyshia Cole, Ab-Soul, Young Nudy, Chief Keef, Ari Lennox, Lute, Omen, Kai Ca$h & Niko Brim, Bas, Ludacris, Coco Jones, GloRilla, Wale, BigXthaPlug, JID, Anycia, Earthgang, Cozz and Akia.

With a general ambiance akin to a younger relative of Roots Picnic, Dreamville Fest 2025 offered attendees a strong selection of hip-hop and R&B’s biggest names peppered with the label’s own robust talent. Bas and Lute were two Dreamville stars who held it down for the whole team on Saturday, delivering equally poignant and high-energy sets that celebrated Dreamville’s history and legacy. On the festival’s first day, Chief Keef gave fans a fine set bookmarked by classics like “Faneto” and “I Don’t Like,” Kai Ca$h & Niko Brim won over new fans with their barred-up set, and Ludacris fired off several of his generation-bridging classes, managing to get the “Move B—h” hook to echo across the park. Keyshia Cole threw it back to 2005 with a special set celebrating her The Way It Is album, which housed massive sing-along hits like “Love” and “I Should’ve Cheated.” With choreography and costumes (for the backup dancers) straight out of the early ’00s, the R&B icon’s set was a beautiful celebratory moment for an incredibly impactful LP — despite her spotty vocal performance.

Before Lil Wayne rocked the stage, Partynextdoor played his most recent tour set, sprinkled with three cuts from his Billboard 200-topping Drake collab album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U — “Somebody Loves Me,” Drake’s “Nokia” and his own “Deeper” — none of which he actually sang. Instead, the DJ played the studio tracks, with the crowd singing along to a few particularly viral lines.

On Sunday, R&B newcomer Akia impressed with a set that included cuts from her newly-released debut EP (“Nobody”) and covers of ’00s R&B hits (Destiny’s Child’s “Cater 2 U”). “Back Outside” rapper Anycia only performed the first 30 seconds of her biggest hit — because she was going over her set time — but she still delivered one of the fest’s more enjoyable sets, anchored by bubbling hits like “Never Need” and her own irresistible charisma. At one point, the ATL rapper cracked that she could see the “reflection of her a–” in the seemingly crystal-clear skin of one particular audience member. GloRrilla and JID each mounted high-octane sets, while BigXthaPlug’s latest country crossover offering — the Bailey Zimmerman-assisted “All The Way” — landed favorably with the N.C. crowd.

Here are the seven best moments of Dreamville Fest 2025.

Coco Jones Cooks Up Some Heat