Dreamville Records
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Dreamville Festival, the annual music event put together by J. Cole and his Dreamville Records team, makes its return to Raleigh, N.C. next month, and the headliners have been announced. Nicki Minaj, SZA, Chris Brown, and the aforementioned Cole are headlining the two-day event.
Dreamville Festival is one of the leading music events and kicks off festival season lovely while showcasing Dreamville’s roster and also supporting North Carolina nonprofits and businesses. The festival will be hosted once more at Dorothea Dix Park, with opportunities for fans to take in local cuisine, and purchase exclusive merch on the grounds.
Hip-Hop Wired was at the festival last year, and it was one of the best live experiences we’ve had in years. This year promises to be just as epic with things kicking off on April 6 with Lil Yachty, ScHoolboy Q, Sexxy Red, Jeremih, Teezo Touchdown, Amaarae, Luh Tyler, and Domani rocking the stage.
On April 7, Rema, Jeezy, Monica, Rae Sremmurd, Key Glock, Muni Long, TiaCorine, and Chase Shakur are on the bill. Of course, no Dreamville Festival would be complete without the Dreamville musical collective which includes J.I.D, EARTHGANG, Bas, Cozz, Lute, and Omen.
“Some of the biggest names in music will travel to Raleigh in only a few short weeks, bringing about one of the most highly anticipated festivals of the year. Our team looks forward to welcoming all of our Day One fans from around the world back to Dreamville Festival,”
said Dreamville Cofounder and Festival President Adam Roy in a statement.
As we’ve shared on our pages before, the festival is far more than music as the Dreamville team will promote a weekend-long series of free events and educational programming, along with platforming local businesses of all kinds.
To learn more about the festival and to purchase tickets, click here. The full lineup is also below.
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Photo: Dreamville/Getty
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Dreamville Festival, the annual celebration organized by J. Cole and his Dreamville outfit, will make its return next year in the rapper’s home state. Today (November 7), fans who signed up for the text and email Dreamville newsletter will be able to purchase tickets in a presale event ahead of the early bird drop this Friday.
Hip-Hop Wired attended Dreamville Festival last year and it remains one of the premier musical festivals that exists today. Under the guiding eye of Fayetteville, N.C. native J. Cole, the festival will return next spring to Raleigh and promises to be another star-studded affair. Last year, Usher, Drake, Burna Boy, Summer Walker, and City Girls were some of the big names to join the Dreamville Records crew of the aforementioned Cole, EarthGang, Ari Lennox, Bas, Cozz, JID, Lute, and Omen.
“Before Dreamville drops the new festival lineup, we wanted to offer our fans a chance to secure their tickets early. Last year sold out in advance and prices are only going to rise as we inch closer to April but now you can get in early, secure your spot, and start booking travel before the holidays hit,” said Dreamville Festival’s President Adam Roy in a statement.
This will be one of the hottest tickets in 2024 as 100,000 fans converged on the sprawling green of Dorothea Dix Park. Along with the performances, Dreamville organizers have perfected the art of the music festival with plenty of food options, well-positioned restrooms, and two stages with staggered set times so that fans can check out their favorites. There will also be merchandise available on the grounds, along with local businesses and nonprofits launching on-site activations from the Wake County area.
The presale tickets will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. EST and are only available to Dreamville fans who sign up for the official festival email or text newsletter at www.DreamvilleFest.com.
On Friday (November 10) at 10:00 a.m. EST, two-day GA festival passes will be made available to the public along with VIP experience packages.
Dreamville Festival 2024 will take place on April 6 and April 7 next year in Raleigh, N.C. A lineup has yet to be announced and we’ll return with those details as soon as they’re made available to the public.
Learn more by visiting this link.
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Photo: Dreamville/Getty
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CLOSE
Dreamville Festival 2023 wrapped up epically on Sunday (April 2), surpassing the wildest dreams of most of the fans in attendance on the first day of the weekend-long celebration alone. On the final night, Dreamville honcho J. Cole took alongside a certain Canadian superstar, who then brought out a bevy of unannounced surprise guests much to the delight of fans.
Hip-Hop Wired attended Dreamville Fest 2023, adding to the event’s well-established legacy and one of the premier annual music events on the east coast and beyond.
Since the big reveal of the star-studded lineup, most fans in attendance that we overheard were most excited about the prospect of seeing Drake rock the Dreamville stages alongside Fayettville’s native son, and they were not left disappointed.
Cole came out to raucous applause and ran through several fan favorites before pausing his set to give praise to Drake. The two were in top performance mode with Drake truly delighting the masses by bringing out GloRilla, Lil Uzi Vert, and Lil Wayne to perform some of their biggest hits.
Forgive us for the lack of a set list because we were too busy screaming our lungs out taking in the show to take notes. Put it this way. Each of the aforementioned stars has huge songs in their catalog and in that short amount of time, we heard most of the best.
We also have to add that while it is still VERY EARLY in festival season, it will be hard to top what we had the privilege of witnessing in Raleigh, N.C. Kudos to the whole Dreamville staff, label, and crew.
On Twitter, the reaction to J. Cole and Drake closing out the Dreamville Festival with a few of their famous pals is still going strong. Check out those tweets below.
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Photo: @ITCHYEYEPHOTOS/Dreamville Festival/The Parallel Agency
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Dreamville Festival 2023 concluded its weekend-long celebration in Raleigh, N.C., and Hip-Hop Wired took in the festivities on the grounds. Much like the inaugural event which we also attended, the Dreamville team once again provided a safe and enjoyable experience for the attendees while packing the stages with plenty of star power.
As we noted during our first time attending the festival, the Dreamville organizers have figured out how to stagger performances that ensure fans get to hear their faves unencumbered.
From acts like Houston spitter Marqus Clae and his passionate performance, the soulful crooning of SiR, the City Girls, and the always energetic EarthGang duo, fans got more than their money’s worth before acts such as Sean Paul, the beautiful Ari Lennox, and day one closer Usher took to the stage.
Sean Paul
Ari Lennox
City Girls
Usher
Omen, who was also among the day one list of performers, showed and proved that while it’s been some time since he’s released a proper project, his conviction and confidence are unwavering. We spoke with Omen briefly backstage at the event, and he promised that new music was on the horizon.
“It’s always difficult to put yourself back out there because I’m naturally shy and introverted but I try to put all I can into the music and I think this new project will showcase Omen at my best,” the Chicago native explained. Omen said that the album should drop in either the third or fourth quarter of this year.
Omen added, “My focus on this new album is that I want the music to mean something and to live beyond me. While Chicago influences almost everything in my art, this is also about my journey of me as a man. Being away from the scene for these years was hard but trust me, we got something to be proud of and I’m glad to be doing this with Dreamville behind me.”
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to speak to many of the performers on the festival’s first day, but the second day provided grander opportunities.
Reuben Vincent
EarthGang
Baby Tate
Waka Flocka Flame
Before the interviews, the performances from Reuben Vincent, Cozz, Mario, and Baby Tate, along with a rousing set from both J.I.D. and Waka Flocka Flame were mindblowing as evidenced by the roars from the crowd. Of course, most fans packed themselves early in front of the Shine stage for the event’s closing set of J. Cole and Drake, more on that in another post to come.
Backstage, we chopped it up with Jamla Records artist Reuben Vincent fresh after his set. Vincent, who hails from the city of Charlotte, explained to us that his purpose is grander than being a famous musician, especially after releasing the excellent album, Love Is War.
“I created Love Is War to honor my Liberian heritage and what my parents survived during the Liberian War but it’s also just about the fact that love truly can be war at times,” Vincent shared in a quiet tone, a stark contrast from his stage performance.
Vincent continued, “Having the legacy of Liberia within the body of my music and having strong mentors like 9th Wonder and the Jamla team is amazing. I’ve been chasing this dream since I was a teenager and now it’s all coming together for me at the right time. I’m glad I got to share my art with the crowd and that they seemed to get it.”
Baby Tate also delivered a stirring performance at this year’s festival, which was her first and she spared a few minutes of her time to talk about the experience and the resurgence of her track “Hey Mickey!” via TikTok.
“This was my first time rocking this festival but I’m so glad people were vibing with me, especially because I haven’t put a whole lot of music out but that’s about to change,” Baby Tate shared.
“And that’s why “Hey Mickey!” coming back around because of the kids on TikTok is so dope because I know some artists get hate for making songs for [TikTok] but if the kids are vibing with it, why not? That’s why we locked in with Saweetie for the remix. Because of that, we have a lot of stuff in store for y’all,” Baby Tate concluded.
Waka Flocka Flame, another artist who has kept a low musical profile lately, shared with us that he’s got a ton of new music in the can. While Waka says we can expect more of his stadium-rocking anthems, he’s also concerned with continuing his I Can’t Rap mixtape run as well.
“My whole thing right now is putting other people on but not just with music, but also the spiritual aspects of life because this industry will try you if you let it,” Waka explained, exuding the most positive energy of all the entertainers we met during the festival.
“I have so many blessings that were given to me that I have to do more for the people and it’s always more than just music. Yes, we got new music coming, and I’m coming back with that I Can’t Rap series. So many things. I can’t share too much but trust me, a whole lot of Waka is coming to the people and I can’t wait to hit the road,” Waka stated.
Hip-Hop Wired wishes to extend its thanks to Omen, Reuben Vincent, Baby Tate, Waka Flocka Flame, and the entire Dreamville Festival team for sharing a bit of their time with us.
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Photo: K97.5/Getty
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Dreamville Records, spearheaded by J. Cole and Ibrahim Hamad, remain one of the top artistic collectives in the music game at the moment. Today (Feb. 24), Dreamville and Daily Paper, a fashion brand out of London, joined forces to launch the stunning Dream Daily collection.
The new drop from Dreamville Records and Daily Paper brings together a vision of what the two labels’ styles would look like while attending university. The new campaign is fashioned like a college yearbook with seven custom pieces in warm colorways and includes letterman jackets, sweatsuits, hoodies, and much more.
Here’s more from the creators:
Inspired by the rich cultural heritage of The Great Mosque of Djenné, Djinguereber Mosque and University of Timbuktu / Sankore championing the power of storytelling and education.
Daily Paper and internationally-acclaimed and multi-platinum record label Dreamville come together to collaborate on a capsule collection entitled ‘Dream Daily’.
As vehicles of culture, music, fashion and art as a means to empower, both brands align on core values and vision. A testimony to their communities and dedication to uplift each other and champion untold stories, the collaboration is an ode to the rich history of the African continent, its contribution. Paying homage to the historical Great Mosque of Djenné, Djinguereber Mosque and University of Sankore / Timbuktu Mali
Considered to be one of the first educational institutions in the world the collection takes inspiration from this part of history that is often untold. With both brands starting their respective labels during their university years, we reimagine what a Daily Paper x Dreamville University would look like.
This comes ahead of J. Cole bringing the Dreamville Festival back to his native North Carolina on April 1-2 this spring.
For fans who wish to pick up the pieces for themselves, items can be purchased by following this link and at Daily Paper locations in Amsterdam, London, and New York.
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Photo: Dreamville/Daily Paper
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