On Saturday, April 2, and Sunday, April 3, J. Cole and his Dreamville crew are excited to announce that Rotation, Amazon Music’s worldwide hip-hop and R&B brand, will broadcast the official live stream of the 2022 Dreamville Festival.
Dreamville Festival announced its star-studded music roster earlier this month, with 80,000+ attendees expected to attend the extended two-day music extravaganza this April. Dreamville Festival is partnering with Rotation to deliver unprecedented, real-time access to the two-day festival, which is one of the biggest yearly events on the East Coast, for fans who can’t make the trip to North Carolina.
Rob Markman, a respected music journalist and broadcaster of Rap Rotation, Gia Peppers, host of R&B Rotation DJ Mode, and hip-hop industry veteran Wayno will host the stream.
“In just a few short years, J. Cole has made Dreamville Festival into one of the preeminent hip-hop moments of the year, hosting performances from the hottest up-and-coming artists and established talents. We at Rotation have worked to make Amazon Music the home for these kinds of activations and I can’t wait to bring Dreamville Festival into the homes of hip-hop and R&B fans around the globe,” said Tim Hinshaw, head of hip-hop and R&B for Amazon Music.
“We established Dreamville Festival as one of the premier hip-hop events in the country; bringing together all aspects of the Dreamville brand. This year, we’ve scaled the festival to two days and have curated a lineup of some of Dreamville’s closest collaborators. It’s always been a goal to make Dreamville Fest accessible to fans around the world, and partnering with Amazon Music has made that a reality,” said Candace Rodney, President Dreamville Studios & Records.
The Amazon Music Channel on Twitch, Prime Video, and the Amazon Music app will exclusively broadcast the Dreamville Festival 2022 livestream on April 2-3, 2022.
This summer, Prince will be the subject of a new exhibit in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile that will include interactive experiences. “Prince: The Immersive Experience,” created by entertainment company Superfly in conjunction with The Prince Estate, will launch on June 9 in The Windy City.
According to Rolling Stone, the new exhibit will highlight Prince’s life and his music through the interactive experience. The exhibit will bring guests across multidimensional spaces that highlight the artist’s career. In addition to those spaces, “Prince: The Immersive Experience” will incorporate an audio-visual dance space that will be soundtracked by the legend’s multiple hits.
“You’re going to be able to step in in a Purple Rain album cover,” Kerry Black, cofounder of Superfly said. “Where you can get your photo up on the motorcycle. But we’re also doing a full buildout of the entire street scene, right? So there’s going to be the First Avenue club and a bunch of the stores.”
“I am looking forward to this exhibition and they better have my brother Prince presented in the royal manner and light he deserves,” said L. Londell McMillan, Prince’s longtime partner, manager, and attorney.
On March 31, tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. 540 N. Michigan Ave. will be the location of the experience.
The return of SxSw, might have taken place during the Spring, but on March 18th, in Austin, Texas it was Holiday season! The legendary Hip Hop DJ helped to capture the essence of what SxSw music festival in Austin is all about with his Hollipalooza stage powered by Kim SoMajor, The Umbrella Firm and The Source Magazine.
“The Hollipalooza event was everything you could ask for,” said the Atlanta artist Atmore VI, who debuted an unreleased song he has featuring Bad Bunny called “Passport.” Atmore VI shared, “Hot artists from the past, present, and future all showing love and performing some great music.”
Hollipalooza not only provided the entertainment with big named artists like Trae The Truth, Sally Sossa, Domani, K Shiday, Rob49 and Beat King, it also gave independent artists a time to shine.
“I don’t think they understand,” said Holiday as he introduced his special guest. “I brought some very important people here.”
Along with himself, The Source, and other media outlets in the building, Kim SoMajor and Holiday also brought out Josh “J1” Raiford to help new artist set up their own unique stations as a way to reach those larger audiences. Raiford is the VP of music programming at Pandora.
Attendees felt that the Hollipalooza stage powered by Kim SoMajor and The Umbrella Firm was a great opportunity for them to grow as an artist.
“My Hollipalooza experience was mad lit and definitely one to remember,” said the Georgia native Big Legend who performed” Money Habits.”
He continued to speak on how he took advantage of the mass amount of people present for the event, “I networked with a lot of artists and industry executives, along with making a lot of new fans.”
Rising artist out of South Memphis, Tripstar, loved the enthusiasm of the attendees. Being the next big thing out of Memphis, Trip wanted to know how others felt about his music and said he received a great response.
“I really like how everybody was very supportive and had great energy in the crowd,” said Tripstar, the latest signee to Moneybagg Yo.
Currently, Tripstar’s “Favorite App” song featuring Lil Migo is running on all music platforms.
PGF Shawt, another artist from Atlanta, said The Source was his favorite magazine growing up and loved the fact that he got a chance to perform with them in the building.
“Just being able to be a part of The Source is big,” said Shawt. “It’s a pleasure and honor truly appreciated. Right now, fans can check out PGF Shawt’s new single “Confessions” on all music platforms.
A lot of the performing acts recognized the prominence of DJ Holiday and they all felt honored for the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of him on a big stage.
Atmore VI added, “DJ Holiday is an OG we all grew up listening to, and his down-to-earth demeanor shows you he really does this for the love.”
The Hip Hop duo from St. Petersburg, Florida, Yo Simi, and Dredlock Esoc second that thought when it comes to the persona of DJ Holiday.
“DJ Holiday was a solid dude I got a chance to meet him at the show and after I performed, we chopped it up,” said Dredloc Esco, half of the duo who performed “Vegas.”
FeVaOG also loved the fact that DJ Holiday was down to earth.
“DJ Holiday showed me love and was laid back, so I look forward to working with him,” said the Jersey artist who got the crowd lit with his hit “Casamigos”.
Hollipalooza wasn’t your basic open mic showcase. Along with great networking, The Umbrella Firm offered a single record distribution deal via Beatroot Music to one of the nights top performers. Congratulations are in order to PGF Shawt who won the distribution deal.
Woodrow, CEO of The Umbrella Firm, shared that Shawt’s performance stood out as the “total package.” He said, “Shawt showed he has great music with substance and flow patterns which is rare. Artists usually are one or the other. He’s invested in his career and he has a track record of already having collaborations with other artists and uploading to major platforms.”
“Overall, he has a heavy promotional campaign so he came correct and participated while other artists were performing. That showed humility but he was one of the most dominant independents we had. Looking forward to working with him,” Woodrow shared.
The event also featured a live activation with Atlanta’s own Scotty Atl. Scotty ATL showed some major fan appreciation. Being the new King of Grillz, Scotty gifted out two 6-piece grills to the audience, just for attending the Hollipalooza event. Scotty’s grill company, Grillz By Scotty, provided the grills exclusively done onsite.
“We just wanted to show love, said Scotty ATL, who didn’t perform but brought his artist Just Call Me Veto to the music event.
Under the Cool Club label, Just Call Me Veto introduced himself with his new single “One Of Them Ones.” This was his first Austin performance and the New Orleans-born, but Atlanta-raised artist didn’t take it lightly.
“This is major,” said Veto. “In 2014 I was just walking around. I always wanted to do a show here and now I had three. Shout out to DJ Holiday, Scotty, Kim SoMajor, and The Source. This is major.”
There was a ton of fresh faces in the building for Hollipalooza. Check out a list of some of the new faces of Hip Hop to keep on your radar.
Meek Mill will return to Drai’s Nightclub for a multi-show Drai’s LIVE engagement beginning on Saturday, April 9. Drai’s spectacular Memorial Day weekend schedule will feature the Grammy-nominated performer, who will take the stage at Drai’s Nightclub on Friday, May 27, and at Drai’s Beachclub for a daytime performance on Saturday, May 28.
“We are proud to produce residencies at the forefront of music so it’s with great excitement that we welcome back Meek Mill,” said Dustin Drai, Vice President of Entertainment, Drai’s Management Group. “As one of the industry’s best and most powerful live performers, we look forward to welcoming him back to the Drai’s LIVE stage and continuing our great partnership.”
Expensive Pain, Mill’s most recent album, is a reflection of his life’s difficulties and accomplishments through bangers and emotional compositions. Championships, which opened at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums and earned him a GRAMMY nomination for Best Rap Album in 2020, is his second chart-topper. Mill’s portfolio includes audience favorites such as “Dreams and Nightmares,” “R.I.C.O.” (feat. Drake), “House Party,” “Respect The Game,” and “100 Summers,” as well as popular new singles such as “Hot” and “Sharing Locations.”
The sweeping 35,000-square-foot beach club, which is 11 stories high and surrounded by spectacular views of the Las Vegas Strip, is known for sensational pool parties, lavish cabanas and bungalows, and live entertainment. You can get tickets to Meek’s tenure here.
Thousands are signing a petition to remove Kanye West from the Coachella lineup. The “Eazy” rapper is set to headline day three of the well-known music festival.
The Change-dot-org document was posted in response to Ye’s relentless targeting of his estranged ex-wife Kim Kardashian and boyfriend Pete Davidson, among others.
West was suspended from Instagram for 24 hours last week for posting racial slurs under a photo of “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah.
He was also removed from the Grammys lineup due to his “concerning online behavior.”
There’s no word yet on if he will, in fact, be removed from the festival.
Lollapalooza is set to return to Chicago this July. The 2022 edition of the festival will be headlined by heavyweight Hip-Hop talent in J. Cole, Doja, Cat, and Lil Baby.
The 2022 lineup also includes Jazmine Sullivan, Big Sean, YG, Cordae, Don Toliver, Cordae, Machine Gun Kelly, Tinashe, and more. Tickets are currently on sale with four-day general admission tickets starting at $350. The festival is scheduled for July 28-31. You can learn more about the festival here.
Following a crazy first night, Rolling Loud and RAP TV’s SXSW Showcase returned for night two at Stubb’s. Houston crooner Don Toliver headlined RL’s second night in Austin, performing favorites including “Lemonade,” “After Party,” and “No Idea” for the sold-out crowd. A set from Houston classic Trae The Truth, an energizing performance from rising artist SSGKobe, street-savvy bars courtesy of Detroit’s Icewear Vezzo, and other performances from Bbymutha, Jasiah, BIGBABYGUCCI, Yung Kayo, and more were among the night’s highlights.
Rolling Loud will return to Hip-Hop again in July. Rolling Loud Miami 2022 is set for July 22nd – 24th at Hard Rock Stadium with headliners Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, and Future. Tickets are 90% sold out.
You can see images from the close of Rolling Loud SXSW below.
For its successful return, the Smokin Grooves event brought all of the vibes to Los Angeles Historic Park in Los Angeles, California on Saturday. With headlining performances by Erykah Badu, Nas, The Roots, Jhene Aiko, and Miguel, as well as fantastic sets from The Internet, Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Smino, and others, the day had one of the most eclectic and well-curated lineups for a festival.
One of Erykah Badu’s rare festival appearances was her headlining act. Her fantastic band backed her up on some of her best singles, including “Hello,” “On and On,” “Window Seat,” and more. Her silhouette was defined in sparkles on the stage LED screens, which added to the show’s spectacular visual effects.
Nas delivered a hit-filled set that included “Made You Look,” “NY State of Mind,” and a slew of other songs from his critically praised albums King’s Disease and King’s Disease 2. Nas returned with hit after hit after hit during his frenetic performance as light sprinkling fell on the crowd.
The Roots wowed fans with their dramatic stage presence and performance, which included songs like “The Next Movement,” “Here I Come,” and others. Jhene Aiko returned to the stage for the first time in three years, performing “Tryna Smoke,” “The Worst,” and other songs with harmonized bass lines. Miguel wowed the adoring crowd with his distinctive motions and enigmatic voice, performing favorites like “Sky Walker,” “Sure Thing,” “Vixen,” and many more.
Leading indie label, distributor, and publisher EMPIRE staged their first showcase for night two of SXSW music, ‘The New Africa,’ at Stubb’s Bar-B-Q, only a month after launching EMPIRE Africa. BNXN FKA Buju, Cheque, Fireboy DML, June Freedom, L.A.X., Wande Coal, and other label artists and contemporary Afrobeats trailblazers performed at the sold-out event, which was hosted by Nigerian comedian and actor Basketmouth and DJ Poizon Ivy. Monster Energy and Puma were also sponsors of the event, in addition to Pandora.
Empire expanded in February, announcing EMPIRE Africa, highlighting the success of Nigerian artists like Freboy DML and Olamide. “Don’t forget the rate of streaming music in the States is not the rate of streaming music in Nigeria,” said Kareem Mobolaji, regional head of West Africa with EMPIRE, to Forbes. “If 10 people are streaming you in the U.S., that’s equivalent to having 60 people streaming you in Nigeria.”
You can read more about EMPIRE’s expansion here and see images from the celebration in Austin below.
UnitedMasters and Earn Your Leisure podcast teamed for the Earn Your Masters (EYM) pop-up event at SXSW. The experience combined education, music, and entertainment and was presented by Ally.
The event took place at Austin’s Mala Vida, with Ally and EYL panels exploring equality in Black superheroes, NFTs, Blockchain, Web 3.0, and more during the day, and significant performances from Tobe Nwigwe, Bun B, BigXthaPlug, OG Ron C, and Chase B during the evening.
Bun B, a businessman, rapper, and half of the UGK rap group, joined EYL’s Troy Millings and Rashad Bilal on stage to talk about his experiences in the music industry over the years, the parallels between hip-hop and religion, and more.
“You’re not just an artist, you have a business, too,” Bun B shared during the event. “So you have to know not just what it takes to produce a record and get it mixed and mastered and all that. That’s 2%. That’s the easy part. You don’t even have to be good to make successful music. But you do have to be smart to build a successful business. Before you do the art, know the business.”
4-Day Tickets on sale today at 12pm CT. 
