J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival Brings 80,000 Attendees to North Carolina

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J. Cole and his Dreamville team successfully launched their second Dreamville Festival in Raleigh this past weekend, welcoming 80,000 people from all over the world and generating a multi-million dollar economic impact for the state.

Dreamville Festival, the brand’s flagship music festival property, was successfully relaunched after a three-year hiatus, growing to become the largest music festival in the state of North Carolina and expanding to two days at the historic Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh. This year’s event brought together local residents and visitors alike to enjoy outstanding music performances while visiting the historic Dorothea Dix Park, with a continuous emphasis on community, diversity, and inclusivity.

More than 60% of attendees had attended the festival in the previous year. This year’s attendees came from all 50 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., and 14 overseas nations, demonstrating the global reach of the Dreamville brand.

Fans of all ages were treated to performances from some of today’s most sought-after music acts at Dreamville, which mixed stadium headliners with intriguing up-and-comers. J. Cole, the festival’s originator, crafted the lineup and the festival experience once again, with his headlining performance providing a genuinely unforgettable experience for fans who had been waiting for the festival’s return.

“Our Dreamville team is not only grateful for our incredible fans across the world who traveled to attend or livestreamed online, but also to the greater Raleigh community for welcoming our festival back with open arms. After being forced to sit out the last three years and now seeing all of the overwhelmingly positive feedback from this past weekend, we couldn’t be more excited about the future of the fest. See you next spring for Year 3,” said Dreamville Partner and Festival President Adam Roy.

The festival continued to provide an opportunity for J. Cole to give back to his home state, which has influenced him to become the successful and innovative musician he is today, as well as a cultural and economic impact that lasts long after the festival ends each spring. Attendees had access to a range of family-friendly activities and local vendors, nearly all of whom were based in Raleigh or the larger Triangle area, and the overall number of vendors was more than doubled from the previous year.

Guests could also enjoy site-wide art pieces selected by local arts nonprofit Artsplosure, a big Nonprofit and Community Organization Row dedicated to raising awareness for numerous local charity programs, and the launch of a sky-high Ferris wheel affording unsurpassed views of the city.

You can see images from the festival below.

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Dreamville Names Former Def Jam Marketing Exec. Chris Davis to Manager Of Product and Strategy

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Chris Davis, a former Def Jam Recordings marketing executive, has been named Manager of Product and Strategy for Dreamville Records, just in time for hip hop’s most anticipated event, “Dreamville Fest.” He will assist strategize and implement activations for both established and emerging talent in his new job. Davis plans the label’s marketing initiatives and links companies to artist campaigns. He will play a key role in the development of the Dreamville artist’s work. Davis previously worked on the marketing team at Def Jam Recordings, where he worked on Kanye West’s Donda, DMX’s Exodus, the soundtrack for Coming 2 America, Hit-Boys’ What You Expect, and many other projects.

Dreamville Records is an Interscope imprint formed by Grammy-nominated performer and producer J.Cole and is home to artists such as Bas, Ari Lennox, JID, EARTHGANG, and others. “Working for Dreamville has been nothing short of amazing. I’m truly blessed to be accepted into a family that I’ve been a fan of for over a decade,” said Davis. 

Before going to the New York region to pursue his passion for music, the Gary, Indiana native and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity obtained his MBA from Arkansas State University. His passion for community action and social justice fuels his ambition to advance up the business ladder.

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Dreamville Fires Off Their ‘D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape’ With 2 Chainz, ASAP Ferg, Young Nudy, And More

J. Cole and his Dreamville crew surprised the music world on Wednesday with news that they teamed up with DJ Drama for a Gangsta Grillz mixtape. The project is titled D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape, and as promised, they released the mixtape to the world on Thursday. D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape arrives with 15 songs and appearances from the entire Dreamville crew which includes Cole, Ari Lennox, JID, Earthgang, Cozz, Bas, Lute, and Omen. Additionally, 2 Chainz, ASAP Ferg, Young Nudy, G Perico, Reason, Kenny Mason, and Sheck Wes also appear on the new project.

The mixtape is the latest compilation project from Dreamville, who has been quite active in that department over the years. It makes for their fourth project as a group following 2014’s Revenge Of The Dreamers, 2015’s Revenge Of The Dreamers II, and 2019’s chart-topping Revenge Of The Dreamers. As for D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape, some highlight points on the project are Ari Lennox’s sample and interpolation of Rose Royce’s classic record “I’m Going Down,” Cozz’s freestyle over The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Who Shot Ya?” and excellent verses from the likes of J. Cole, Bas, JID, Earthgang, and more.

D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape touches down two days before Dreamville and friends bring their talents to North Carolina for a weekend filled with performances from some of the industry’s best names. The Dreamville cast, Lil Wayne, Jeezy, Moneybagg Yo, Wale, Rico Nasty, Fivio Foreign, Larry June, Bia, Morray, Blxst, T-Pain, and more will all appear at this weekend’s Dreamville Festival which takes place on April 2 and 3 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape is out noa via Dreamville and Interscopre. You can stream it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Dreamville Announces Their ‘D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape’ With DJ Drama And Shares Its Release Date

Nearly three summers ago, Dreamville dropped one of hip-hop’s most collaborative projects with Revenge Of The Dreamers III. The compilation brought a total of 35 artists and 27 producers together for the 18-track effort. Now it seems like for their latest project, Dreamville will be keeping things in-house with a little help from DJ Drama. Days before their upcoming Dreamville Festival, the label founded by J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad announced their D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape with DJ Drama.

The announcement also revealed that the upcoming project will be released tomorrow, March 31, at 7pm EST/4pm PST. The news was shared with a trailer that was made up of a collage of videos that featured the entire Dreamville roster, that being J. Cole, Ari Lennox, JID, Earthgang, Cozz, Bas, Lute, and Omen. D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape will be the latest in Dreamville’s collection of collaborative projects which dates back to 2014 with Revenge of the Dreamers, a project that was followed up by 2015’s Revenge of the Dreamers II.

As for the label’s Dreamville Festival, that’s set to go down on April 2 and 3 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Across the weekend, festivalgoers will catch appearances from the Dreamville cast, Lil Wayne, Jeezy, Moneybagg Yo, Wale, Rico Nasty, Fivio Foreign, Larry June, Bia, Morray, Blxst, T-Pain, and more.

You can view the trailer for D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape, which arrives on 3/31, in the video above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

ICYMI: J. Cole Announces Dreamville Festival Lineup Featuring Lil Baby, Wizkid, Kehlani & More

J. Cole's Dreamville Festival

J. Cole and his Dreamville crew have revealed the whole music lineup for the second edition of Dreamville Festival, which will take place on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 this spring. DreamvilleFest.com has tickets available now

Dreamville Festival will expand to two days this April after a sold-out inaugural one-day event in 2019. The Dreamville Festival is projected to bring in millions of dollars to the local and state economies once again.

Cole has invited some of his favorite musicians and collaborators to join him in his home state of North Carolina for one of the most anticipated music events of the year for his festival’s long-awaited return. On Saturday, Lil Baby will headline, with WizKid, Kehlani, Morray, and Fivio Foreign also performing; on Sunday, DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz will perform for the first time, with Lil Wayne, Jeezy, and T.I., as well as a diverse lineup of artists including Ari Lennox, Moneybagg Yo, Bia, Rico Nasty, Wale, and Larry June, plus a headlining set from J. Cole to close out the weekend.

“We always set out to curate something special. Our Dreamville family has been patiently waiting for the fest’s return and now we’re back with a lineup unlike anything else found in today’s event landscape,” said Dreamville Partner and Festival President Adam Roy.

Cole is bringing together the entire Dreamville Records music roster to play at the enlarged two-day event, which will represent a rare reunion for the label. In addition to Cole, notable Dreamville performers due to perform include Ari Lennox, Bas, J.I.D, EarthGang, Cozz, and Omen, as well as Lute from nearby Charlotte.

Fans at Dreamville Festival 2022 will be treated to a spectacular on-stage reunion from Ja Rule and Ashanti, as well as R&B’s auto-tune pioneer T-Pain, in addition to the launch of the Gangsta Grillz joint performance starring three southern rap superstars and hosted by none other than DJ Drama.

The official Dreamville Festival charity partners, the Dreamville Foundation and Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy, will get a portion of the proceeds from the 2022 event. Visit www.Dreamville.com and www.DixPark.org for additional information on these organizations.

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