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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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DJ Akademiks is definitely a notable voice in the sprawling Hip-Hop media space although some would venture to say that his style of journalism isn’t particularly hard-hitting. Ak, using his massive platform, took shots at Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole for not sitting down with Hip-Hop outlets and instead took interviews with spaces outside the culture.
DJ Akademiks took to his customary post on Twitch to talk his talk regarding the aforementioned trio of rappers who made their marks early on during the so-called “blog era” and transformed themselves into Hip-Hop megastars.
From Ak’s perspective, it appears that this current dig at Hip-Hop’s biggest names came in the wake of J. Cole recently sitting down with Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers for a wide-ranging chat that wasn’t solely focused on his storied career. Instead, the North Carolina rapper shared tales of his upbringing, including a time when his older brother caught him smoking cigarettes at the age of 6 and disappointing his mother in the process.
It was not an interview in the vein of what is typically held today via the various Hip-Hop podcasts and the like. DJ Akademiks believes that Drizzy, K-Dot, and Cole World are behaving as if they’re too famous to work with media outlets that are, in his words, within the culture.
In that same breath, Ak called the gentlemen “weird” for bypassing hubs like The Joe Budden Podcast, Million Dollaz Worth Of Game, and other shows of the same ilk.
On Twitter, the comments from DJ Akademiks garnered some responses. We’ve got those reactions listed out below.
[h/t TMZ]
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Photo: Getty
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J. Cole keeps a healthy distance between his adoring fanbase and his personal life, so the rare chances to get a deeper glimpse into his life are a welcome moment. In a new interview, the Dreamville Records honcho shared details about his life few knew such as getting caught smoking cigarettes as a boy, his love of basketball, and more.
J. Cole sat down with ESPN’s Lead By Example with Bob Myers, hosted by Golden State Warriors GM, Bob Myers. As one of the top executives in professional sports, Myers’ program might not seem like a likely spot for J. Cole but the interview was wide-ranging, revealing, and full of heart.
Early in the chat, the North Carolina artist born Jermaine Cole shared a story of how he was sneaking around at the age of 6 with friends and got into a pack of cigarettes. While Cole was trying to embody the cool of his older neighborhood pals, his older brother didn’t approve of his actions and told their mother.
Cole went on to say that the moment changed his life and that he learned how to model better behavior and began correcting himself whenever he strayed off his path. In a bid to not disappoint others, Cole says be became a “self-corrector.”
Later in the chat, Cole talks about being passed over at the Grammys in earlier parts of his life, his creative process, and much more.
Check out the discussion between J. Cole and Bob Myers below.
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Photo: Getty
Written By D.L. Chandler , Senior Editor Posted 34 mins ago @dlchandler123 D.L. Chandler is a veteran of the Washington D.C. metro writing scene, working as a journalist, reporter, and culture critic. Initially freelancing at iOne Digital in 2010, he officially joined the iOne team in 2017 where he currently works as a Senior Editor […]
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Source: Dreamville / Dreamville
The Dreamville Festival 2023 has cemented itself as a must-attend event. On Tuesday (Feb. 28), Live Nation and Dreamville announced that J. Cole and Usher will be headlining the 2-day event, with Drake serving as the former’s special guest.
The J. Cole and Dreamville team revealed the full music lineup for the Dreamville Festival, which will return to Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina on April 1-2.
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Day 1 on Saturday, April 1 is headlined by Usher and the day’s lineup is stocked with acts Lil Durk, Ari Lennox, City Girls, EARTHGANG, , and Key Glock, to name a handful. Sunday’s is just as packed with Burna Boy, Summer Walker, J.I.D, GloRilla, Waka Flocka Flame, Mario, and more. Of course, J. Cole is the Sunday headliner with The Boy from Toronto holding fort as his special guest on the mainstage (Burna Boy will be closing the second stage just before).
Dreamville fans will be in for a treat since the entire roster—Cole, Ari Lennox, J.I.D, EARTHGANG, Bas, Cozz, Omen, and Lute—will all be performing over the weekend.
And as always, Dreamville will also put an emphasis on keeping the family vibes going with food vendors, artists and community organizations setting up shop in Dorothea Dix Park, which is Raleigh’s largest city park.
Check out the full line up below.
Saturday, April 1:
USHER
Lil Durk
Ari Lennox
City Girls
Sean Paul
EARTHGANG
Jessie Reyez
Key Glock
SiR
Lute
Omen
Marqus Clae
Victony
Sunday, April 2:
J. Cole + Drake
Burna Boy
Summer Walker
J.I.D
GloRilla
Bas
Waka Flaka [sic] Flame
Mario
Ayra Starr
Baby Tate
Cozz
Jordan Ward
Reuben Vincent
Tickers are on sale now at www.DreamvilleFest.com.
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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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Source: Scott Legato / Getty
Yesterday, J. Cole fans got a late Christmas surprise when producer Bvtman dropped an unheard J. Cole cut that even he didn’t know existed in “Procrastination (Broke).”
Taking to IG to show the text he got from J. Cole and how he discovered his beat, Bvtman stated that “If you know me you know what this post means to me & what this song means to me. If you know me you know this is my peace finally, my dream.” Continuing to breakdown how everything unfolded, Bvtman revealed he was “Randomly driving on the high with my shorty and I get a text from @kingofqueenz25 saying Cole fuccs with my beats. I almost ain’t believe this was real life…. But it is..”
You gotta feel happy for him.
Showing the text he got from Cole, the MC from NC came off as not only humble but inspiring for anyone out there feeling like that dream they’re holding onto is out of reach. It isn’t, and J. Cole is here to remind everyone of that fact.
“This song should live on your channel and serve as a thank you to you and every producer out there cooking up and sharing their work with the world. It’s a million artists out there right now just like me, hungry and searching every day for something to spark a word, a melody, a hook, a verse, a punchline, a way to vent, or a way to CUT THROUGH.
On a day when I couldn’t find much motivation, I was looking for anything to inspire me. Out of curiosity, I typed in ‘J. Cole type beat’ into YouTube. Yours was the first I saw. I pressed play, focused, and wrote this.
This is some shit that would normally stay in the vault, but I don’t want to hold onto the music like that no more. This is for you and whoever else need to hear it. God bless bro and keep doing what you do!”
J. Cole a legend for doing this. Just sayin.’ The track go hard too. Props to both these men.
Check out the track below and let us know your thoughts on the song in the comments section below.
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