Dreamville Festival

Drake Has Dreamville Crowd Sing Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” To J. Cole

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Drake was able to get the crowd at Dreamville Festival to sing Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” to J. Cole on Sunday night in the rapper’s hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. The rappers both served as co-headliners for the event’s final night. Drake’s time on stage followed a 45-minute performance from Cole.

“J. Cole, if you can’t tell, Raleigh North Carolina and myself we love you, brother,” Drake told Cole after the fans sang along to Houston’s hit song. “For real, I appreciate the opportunity.” The two have collaborated numerous times over the years, including on 2010’s “In the Morning,” and 2013’s “Jodeci Freestyle.”

Drake & J. Cole At Dreamville Festival

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 02: J. Cole (L) and Drake (R) perform during the Dreamville Festival at Dorothea Dix Park on April 02, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage)

Cole expressed his gratitude for the Toronto rapper afterward. “This man right here, bro, I was such a fan, and I feel like I am speaking for all of us when I say this, bro… We are fucking wowed, amazed, blown away by your greatness, bro,” Cole said. “It gives me chills to see you do this shit at the highest level, non-stop and constantly serve us and bless us with the fucking soundtrack to our lives. I am blown away by your greatness. Y’all make some fucking noise for Drizzy Drake!”

During Drake’s set, he brought out several surprise guests. Among them were both GloRilla, who performed her breakthrough track “F.N.F. (Let’s Go),” and Lil Uzi Vert, who performed “XO Tour Llif3” and “Just Wanna Rock.” For Uzi, he’s been traveling all over performing the latter of the two songs. The night before, he played it at WrestleMania 39 and earlier in the week, did so on The Tonight Show. Drake also welcomed his longtime collaborator Lil Wayne to the stage. He performed “Uproar” and “A Milli.” Fans who want to catch Drake live will have a chance to do so later his year when he hits the road with his Her Loss partner, 21 Savage.

The Dreamville Festival Crowd Serenades J. Cole

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Summer Walker Wins $400 At Dave & Busters With J. Cole, Waka Flocka & More

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Dreamville Festival was a massive success this year. J. Cole and co. brought out the stars for an incredible two-day festival. Along with the Dreamville roster, including J.I.D, Bas, and others, they also hosted acts like Summer Walker, Usher, and plenty of others. However, after closing things out with J. Cole and Drake’s incredible co-headlining set, they took the party to Dave & Busters where Summer Walker emerged as the winner.

The R&B star took to Instagram where she revealed that she was snatching up everyone’s money. Walker revealed that she won $440 “on accident” from apparently placing bets against a number of people on the basketball arcade game. A video emerged of Walker hitting back-to-back swishes at D&B’s emerged as J. Cole appeared shook at her athletic abilities. Eventually, he holds his head in disbelief while Walker peers over her shoulders and says, “What?” Perhaps, we’ll catch the two of them collaborating in the near future following her win at the arcade.

Summer Walker Wins All At Dave & Buster’s With J. Cole & Co.

After showcasing her basketball skills, she got into a game of air hockey with Waka Flocka. Apparently, Dreamville has some pull at D&B as Waka Flocka was spotted sparking a blunt at the other end of the table. Evidently, the eventful weekend closed out with some fun for everyone involved in Dreamville Festival. “$440 from Dave N Busters on accident,” she captioned her story. “Ain’t lost one game.” Ultimately, it seems like her skills impressed both Waka Flocka and J. Cole. 

Summer Walker delivered an incredible set at Dreamville Festival, though she has even more surprises in store for her fans. This afternoon, she announced her new EP, Clear 2: Soft Life. The upcoming project marks her first since 2021’s Still Over It. The new EP drops on May 19th, so we’ll have plenty of heat in store for the summer months. Though she hasn’t revealed a tracklist yet, we could imagine that she’ll have a few collabs on deck for Clear 2: Soft Life. Check out footage from Dave & Busters above and sound off with your thoughts in the comments. 

Summer Walker Confirmed When She’s Dropping Her ‘Clear 2: Soft Life’ EP At Dreamville Festival

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Summer Walker hit a personal milestone at the beginning of this year. “I really reached my goal of hella kids before 30,” she wrote on her Instagram Story in January. “I’m so happy.” Walker welcomed twins, her second and third children after first welcoming a daughter, Bubbles, with her ex, London On Da Track, in 2021.

Now, it appears she’s ready to hit more professional milestones.

Walker announced her Clear 2: Soft Life EP will drop on May 19 while performing her set at Dreamville Festival on Sunday, April 2. (Her Clear EP arrived in January 2019.)

“Just wanted to let you guys know that I have an EP dropping May 19,” Walker told her audience. “Go to my website if you wanna pre-order it. It’s a lil somethin’, somethin’. Clear. Y’all ready for some new music?”

Walker finished her set by thanking J. Cole and Dreamville — “love all of you” for having her and performing “Insane” from her 2021 album, Still Over It.

Dreamville Festival was headlined by Usher on Saturday night, April 1, and co-headlined by Drake and J. Cole on Sunday. Away from the stage, Walker ruthlessly “ran it up at Dave & Buster’s, shocking Cole in the process:

Clear 2: Soft Life is out 05/19 via LVRN/Interscope Records. Find more information here.

Summer Walker Announces “Clear 2: Soft Life” EP During Her Dreamville Set

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Even after giving birth to twins a few months ago, Summer Walker continues to prove her dedication to her craft. She performed at this past weekend’s Dreamville Festival, chiefly using her time on stage to make an exciting announcement. In between singing some of her biggest hits from projects like Over It and Still Over It, the R&B diva confirmed that a new EP, titled Clear 2: Soft Life, will be coming very soon.

The upcoming release will mark her first solo effort since the 2021 album. That body of work markedly chronicled her tumultuous relationship with London On Da Track. The two artists share Walker’s oldest child, Bubbles. Unfortunately, they’ve had a difficult time navigating co-parenting since going their separate ways. Since then, the Atlanta native has also ended things with the father of her twins, Larry, causing some fans to speculate that this new EP may give us some insight into that situation.

Summer Walker Says New Music OTW

“Just wanted to let y’all guys know that I have an EP dropping… May 19th. Go to my website if you wanna pre-order it,” the 26-year-old told the crowd on Sunday (April 2) night. “Y’all ready for some new music?” As Hypebae notes, the planned release will serve as a sequel to 2019’s CLEAR, which consists of four solo titles – “Riot,” “Grave,” “Wasted,” and “Settling.” More recently, we’ve heard the mother of three on “Tell Me It’s Over” with Jacquees and 6LACK from the former’s 2022 album, as well as alongside Ciara on “Better Thangs.”

Regardless of what stories she plans to tell on her next project, R&B lovers are just happy to know that new music from the ethereal vocalist is on the way this spring. Elsewhere at Dreamville Fest, Summer Walker posed for a photo with Usher (who headlined on April Fool’s Day and hilariously tricked his audience into thinking Beyoncé would be joining him) and played arcade games with J. Cole himself. Keep scrolling to see more photos and videos of the singer’s weekend in Raleigh, and let us know if you’re excited about her upcoming EP in the comments.

More Photos/Videos from Dreamville Festival

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What Was Drake’s Setlist From Dreamville Fest 2023?

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Usher pulled a cruel April Fools’ Day joke as a headliner at Dreamville Festival, leaving the Raleigh, North Carolina crowd briefly believing that Beyoncé was joining him on stage.

Drake wasn’t playing around with his co-headlining set on Sunday, April 2. He actually brought out 21 Savage, GloRilla, Lil Wayne, and Lil Uzi Vert. Dreamville boss and co-headliner J. Cole also made an appearance to close things out sentimentally.

“I’m such a fan, and I feel like I’m speaking for all of us when I say this, bro: We are f*cking wowed, amazed, blown away by your greatness, bro,” Cole said. “It gives a n**** chills to see you do this sh*t at the highest level, nonstop, and constantly serve us and bless us with the f*cking soundtrack to our lives, bro. I’m f*cking blown away by your greatness, bro.”

Drake and 21 Savage are preparing to head out on their It’s All A Blur Tour in June. Prepare yourself by checking out Drake’s Dreamville Fest 2023 setlist (as noted by setlist.fm) and footage from his performance below.

1. “Sicko Mode”
2. “Over”
3. “Headlines”
4. “HYFR (Hell Ya F*cking Right)”
5. “Started From The Bottom”
6. “Energy”
7. “Know Yourself”
8. “Nonstop”
9. “God’s Plan”
10. “FNF (Let’s Go)” with GloRilla
11. “XO Tour Llif3” with Lil Uzi Vert
12. “Just Wanna Rock” with Lil Uzi Vert
13. “Marvins Room”
14. “Wu-Tang Forever”
15. “Practice”
16. “The Motto” with Lil Wayne
17. “Uproar” with Lil Wayne
18. “A Milli” with Lil Wayne
19. “Knife Talk” with 21 Savage
20. “Rich Flex” with 21 Savage
21. “I Will Always Love You”

J. Cole Asks Kanye West To Clear The ‘Villematic’ Sample From ‘Friday Night Lights’ At Dreamville Fest

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Sunday night, during J. Cole’s headlining set at Dreamville Festival, the North Carolina rapper shouted out Kanye West. Just ahead of a performance of the fan favorite “Villematic” from his star-making 2010 tape Friday Night Lights, Cole implored the mercurial producer to clear the sample on the song; on it, Cole raps over Kanye’s Rick Ross collaboration “Devil In A Blue Dress” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Cole has repeatedly addressed the absence of his two breakout tapes, Friday Night Lights and its predecessor, 2019’s The Warm Up, from digital streaming platforms. In 2019, he tweeted “10 years ago The Warm Up dropped. Thanks 2 all that have listened 2 the foundation of my whole journey. My catalogue on streaming services don’t even look right until this & FNL are up. workin on it.”

In 2020, he posted a similar anniversary recollection on Instagram (which has since been deleted). “This one defined me as a artist,” he wrote. “Thank you forever for the love … My dream is to one day have this on DSP’s where it belongs.”

Unfortunately for J. Cole, Kanye has become more unpredictable than ever in pursuing grudges — and he has good reason to be upset with Cole. In 2016, Cole’s track “False Prophets” drew attention as he called out an unnamed fallen hero of rap many assumed to be Kanye, who was then cozying up to Donald Trump. Late last year, as Kanye immolated himself with antisemitic rhetoric, “False Prophets” trended on Twitter as fans noted that Cole appeared to have predicted his hero’s downfall.

Ye isn’t likely to have taken that kindly; while he did eventually clear a sample for Drake, who was in a similar position with So Far Gone‘s sample of “Say You Will” from 808s And Heartbreak, since then, Kanye has only gotten more surly. Cole might just be forced into a situation like Chance The Rapper or De La Soul, releasing the project to DSPs with a slightly altered tracklist.

J. Cole Asks Kanye West To Clear A Sample At Dreamville Festival

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J. Cole pleaded with Kanye West to clear a sample for him on stage at Dreamville Festival, over the weekend. He had just finished performing his song, “Villematic,” which reworks Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy hit, “Devil in a New Dress.” Cole included his take on the beat on his mixtape, Friday Night Lights, which released back in 2010. Despite rare reviews and love from fans, the project still has not made its way to streaming services.

“Shout out to Kanye West,” Cole said on stage after the song finished. “Please clear the sample for me, my brother. I appreciate it.” It would stand to reason that the request implies Cole could be trying to bring Friday Night Lights to streaming services sometime soon. In November 2020, on the mixtape’s 10-year anniversary, Cole wrote on Instagram, “My dream is to one day have this on DSP’s where it belongs.”

J. Cole Performs At Dreamville Festival

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 02: J. Cole performs during the 2023 Dreamville Festival at Dorothea Dix Park on April 02, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage)

It might be tough for Cole to get the clearance from Ye, as the two haven’t always been on the best of terms. Cole famously dissed West on his 2016 song “False Prophets.” At the time, he rapped: “Justifying that half ass shit he dropped, we always buy it/ When he tell us he a genius but it’s clearer lately/ It’s been hard for him to look into the mirror lately/ There was a time when this n***a was my hero, maybe/ That’s the reason why his fall from grace is hard to take.”

West eventually responded to the diss, demanding an apology from Cole on Twitter. “I need a publicly apology from J. Cole and Drake to start with immediately,” he wrote. From there, he added, “I’m Nat Turner … I’m fighting for us. I’m not putting no more music out till I’m done with my contract with Sony and Universal…On God…in Jesus name…come and get me. I have the utmost respect for all brothers … we need to link and respect each other… no more dissing each other on labels we don’t own.” Luckily, the two appeared to be on better terms, last year, when Cole praised Kanye’s jeen-yuhs Netflix docuseries. In doing so, they shared a brief back-and-forth on social media.

J. Cole’s Plea To Kanye

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Recap: J. Cole and Drake Close Out Epic Dreamville Fest Weekend

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J. Cole’s annual Dreamville Festival returned to North Carolina this weekend and did not disappoint. With a lineup that included some of the biggest names in hip-hop, the Raleigh music festival delivered a high-energy, diverse talent showcase and a memorable surprise-filled co-headlining performance by Drake and Cole to close the weekend.

Performances kicked off at the historic Dorothea Dix Park on Saturday with a range of rappers and singers, but not without an audible from Mother Nature, as high wind speeds delayed gates and set times by a few hours. Key Glock was also forced to cancel his set due to travel delays, but the festival was able to replace his set with Toosii and adjusted the set times to save the day. Once things got started, fans enjoyed performances from some of the most exciting female artists in hip-hop and R&B, like the City Girls, Ari Lennox, and Jessie Reyez, and sets from names like Lil Durk, Sean Paul, and Usher.

Usher’s headlining set on Saturday was a true spectacle, with the R&B icon delivering a 22-song high-energy performance that had the packed Raleigh crowd dancing and singing along to his endless catalog of hits like “Yeah,” “My Boo”, “Burn,” “U Got It Bad” and more. And with one of the cruelest April Fools jokes of the year, Usher got in the holiday spirit and pretended to bring out Beyonce for the Raleigh crowd, but he made it up to the public by continuing to sing and dance to his years of hits. Almost three decades removed from his self-titled debut, Usher still can win over a crowd with ease, and his classics from the 2000s remain classics today.

The massive crowds continued for Day 2 of the festival on Sunday, with early performances from Waka Flocka Flame, Dreamville’s Cozz and Bas, Mario, and more. The impressive performances didn’t stop as the sun went down, though, as evening and festival came to a close with sets from JID, Summer Walker, Burna Boy, and a very special set from J. Cole and Drake, which Dreamville fans will talk about for years to come.

The longtime friends and collaborators delivered an epic set, performing some of their biggest hits throughout the performance. J. Cole kicked things off, performing some of his biggest hits and many B-side records as a special treat for the crowd, including several performances joined by his Dreamville labelmates like JID, Earthgang, Bas, and more.

Next, Cole introduced Drake to the Dreamville crowd, as Drizzy kicked things off with his Travis Scott collab “Sicko Mode” to start things off with high energy. Drake has some surprises of his own, though, as he not only performed a catalog of his best tracks but he brought out several surprise guests, including Lil Uzi Vert, Glorilla, 21 Savage, and Lil Wayne. The night wasn’t over, though, as J. Cole returned to the stage to say goodbye with a performance of his “Forest Hills Drive” track “No Role Modelz.” 

Each rapper delivered a career-spanning collection of tracks that reminded fans of their come-up in rap as peers and how each artist has grown since the days of “The Come Up” and “Thank Me Later.” While both rappers could have closed out the festival in an unforgettable fashion on their own, the combination of the two alone, not to mention all the surprises, was worth the price of admission and won’t be matched by any other festival this year.

Dreamville Festival was not only an incredible weekend of music but also one of culture and community, and it’s no surprise that the fest has become one of the largest and most popular artist-led music festivals in the world, generating millions of dollars each year for the local and North Carolina economy.

Check out our favorite images from Dreamville 2023 below.

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Drake Brought Out 21 Savage, GloRilla, Lil Uzi Vert, And Lil Wayne During His Dreamville Festival Set

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Drake and J. Cole may have been billed as co-headliners of Dreamville Festival Sunday night but Drake’s portion of the set turned into a mini-festival of its own as he brought out a plethora of special guests to round out the show. Amid a hit-strewn set that saw Drake bring out fan favorites spanning all the way back to his debut album, the Canadian superstar still found space to surprise fans with some familiar faces.

First, he introduced the crowd to breakout Memphis star GloRilla, who performed her viral hit “FNF (Let’s Go).” Then, without warning, Lil Uzi Vert appeared, sporting a relatively low-key look (for Lil Uzi Vert), prompting performances of “XO Tour Llif3” and “Just Wanna Rock.” As Drake performed his 2011 party cut “The Motto,” his Young Money boss Lil Wayne popped out to contribute not just his verse from the song but also performances of “Uproar” and “A Milli.”

Then, before wrapping things up, Drake invited his Her Loss collaborator 21 Savage to the stage to perform a pair of their joint tracks, “Knife Talk” and “Rich Flex.”

As his set came to a close, Drake was joined by J. Cole, and the pair spent the last few minutes of the festival showing their appreciation for each other (again) before J. Cole closed things out with his fan-favorite hit “No Role Modelz.”

You can watch the videos above.

J. Cole & Drake End Dreamville Festival With A Bang, Lil Wayne, 21 Savage, & More Also Appear

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Now that spring has officially sprung, music festival season is finally upon us. Thankfully for music lovers, the lineups for 2023 are seriously impressive. Rolling Loud California set the tone for the year a few weeks back, and now, J. Cole’s Dreamville label took over this past weekend with their annual event. The two-day show kicked off with performances from Lute, Key Glock, Jessie Reyez, Sean Paul, the City Girls, Ari Lennox, and Lil Durk. R&B sensation Usher was tapped to headline on Saturday (April 1). During his time on stage, he expertly trolled his audience with a joke about a guest appearance from Beyoncé.

The impressive sets only continued on Sunday (April 2), with Burna Boy, Baby Tate, Wacka Flocka Flame, Summer Walker, and more giving it their all. Of course, it wouldn’t be Dreamville Festival without an appearance from the head honcho himself, J. Cole, and his pal Drake. The former had the crowd going wild with a career-spanning show that boasted some of his best hits before the Canadian came out to do much of the same. He began with “Sicko Mode,” which was eventually followed up with “Started From The Bottom,” “Know Yourself,” “Nonstop,” and “God’s Plan,” among others.

Drake Surprises J. Cole’s Dreamville Fest Audience

As Complex notes, Drizzy then put his discography on pause to invite out GloRilla, who sang her smash hit single, “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).” Of course, the father of one wasn’t done there – he also tapped Lil Uzi Vert to amp up fans with “XO Tour Llif3” and “Just Wanna Rock.” The latter track was also recently performed by the Philadelphia artist on The Tonight Show and at WrestleMania 39, proving just how popular the track has become since its 2022 release. Following Glo and LUV, Drake kept the party going with an appearance from Lil Wayne.

As expected, the crowd went wild over the Young Money founder, who’s been consistently pulling off surprise shows this year. To close things out, Drake and J. Cole had one more surprise in store – their frequent collaborator 21 Savage, who’s been preparing to head out on tour with Champagne Papi in the coming months. Keep scrolling to catch more performance videos from 2023’s Dreamville Festival and check back later for more hip-hop news updates.

Other Special Guests Include GloRilla and Lil Uzi Vert

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