Dreamville Festival 2024 brought rap and R&B to the forefront and the stage at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. Although the lineup had some late changes (Chris Brown and Muni Long were replaced with 50 Cent and Hunxho), that did not deter over 104,000 “Dreamers” from attending over the festival’s two days. This represented a new record for both J. Cole’s brainchild and the scenic setting.
This year’s Dreamville Festival lineup featured 13 acts each day who performed on two stages – the main Shine Stage and the secondary Rise Stage – situated at opposite ends of the massive park. It’s safe to say that attendees got their steps in making their way from one stage to the other to see their faves.
Day 1 kicked off the festival with performances by T.I.’s son Domani, Dreamville’s Lute and teen star Luh Tyler. After the rappers ripped it, versatile Ghanian-American artist Amaarae brought her blend of R&B, Afrobeats and pop to the Rise Stage. The crowd exploded once they saw her, and she sang “Angels In Tibet” and “Disguise” from her 2023 album Fountain Baby. She then took folks back to her 2020 release THE ANGEL YOU DON’T KNOW to sing “Jumping Ship” before closing out her set with the hypnotic “Princess Goes Digital.”
Atlanta-based hip-hop duo EARTHGANG was up next on the Rise Stage, and they were ready to move the crowd. Olu (aka Johnny Venus) and Eian (aka Doctur Dot) worked the stage masterfully during their set with each focused on opposite sides to ensure they were showing love to everyone gathered to watch them.
They kicked things off with the ever-popular “Sacrifices,” a collab they recorded with J. Cole and Dreamville’s stable of artists from Revenge Of The Dreamers III. They followed that up with “Top Down” from their Mirrorland project, and the crowd sang along to the infectious hook. Olu and Eian proceeded with “Proud Of You, Bobby Boucher” (their 2023 single with Spillage Village and Benji) and wrapped up their solid set with positive vibes, performing the bouncy “Osmosis” (from their brand-new EP ROBOPHOBIA with Spillage Village).
The sun was shining bright on this day, and it was at its brightest when R&B singer Jeremih hit the Rise Stage a little after 5 p.m. The audience was ready to reminisce with him as he cranked out some of his classics.
Jeremih set the vibe early with “Down On Me,” from his sophomore project All About You. R&B heads lost their minds once they recognized the melody for his smash “Birthday Sex.” They sang along with him on the chorus, and which gave him even more energy. Before singing each subsequent song, Jeremih would ask the crowd, “New ish or old ish?” to gauge their preference, and they responded “Old ish!” each time. Taking that cue, he continued to crank out the classics, including his most popular track “Oui” and “Planez” from his 2015 project Late Nights: The Album. He also sang “The Body,” a Wale song on which he was featured, before ending his set with the uptempo joint “Don’t Tell Em.”
Fresh from the release of his new album BLUE LIPS, Top Dawg Entertainment artist ScHoolBoy Q started things off with “Thank god 4 me,” which established the proper tone for his entire set. Q made sure to use all parts of the T-shaped Rise Stage as he delivered his bars. He thanked everyone for their support as he flowed into “Blueslides,” a smooth cut with a jazzy background and deep lyrics.
- Advertisement -ScHoolBoy Q suddenly turned up with his jam “Numb Numb Juice,” taken from his 2019 album CrasH Talk. The crowd was all in at this point, and he went deeper into his catalog and proceeded to rock “Man Of The Year” from his third album Oxymoron and Blank Face joints “THat Part” and “JoHn Muir.” He finished off with “Yeern 101” from his latest project much to the delight of his appreciative fans.
Over on the Shine Stage, Dreamville artist JID was greeted with enthusiastic chants of “J! I! D!” as the crowd anxiously awaited his appearance on stage. He ran out from backstage and wasted no time getting into it. JID got it popping with an unreleased cut from a future project before delivering his certified banger “Down Bad” from his label’s compilation Revenge Of The Dreamers III. Up next was the bass heavy “Off Deez” where JID’s impressive rapid-fire flow was on full display.
- Advertisement -Fog machines on full blast enhanced the vibe as JID got deeper into his set. He pressed on with the mid-tempo “NEVER” from his Dreamville debut The Never Story before hitting “Off Da Zoinkys,” “Crack Sandwich” and the smooth “Bruddanem” as everyone vibed hard with him. As the sun began to set over Dreamville, JID closed out his amazing set with “151 Rum,” “Stick” and his hit “Surround Sound,” showing and proving he is one of the best in today’s rap game.
After a full day of impressive performances, all eyes were on the Shine Stage as R&B superstar SZA was ready to headline Day 1 of Dreamville Festival 2024. The stage was decorated like an abandoned ship lost at sea. After a little intro music, blue lights and fog filled the stage, and SZA finally appeared. Due to the fog, her voice was heard before the audience saw her, but once they did, a loud roar went out as she sang “Seek & Destroy” from game-changing album SOS.
- Advertisement -SZA’s catalog is deep, and she performed her most popular songs during her performance. She delved into her masterful Ctrl album for “Love Galore” and “Broken Clocks,” and the crowd sang right along with her. Next, she circled back to SOS with “Forgiveless,” “Ghost In The Machine” and “Shirt.” SZA then performed “All The Stars” from the Black Panther soundtrack and “Garden,” also from Ctrl. She also sang a few tracks she has been featured on – “Rich Baby Daddy” by Drake and “Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat – before closing out her epic set with “I Hate You,” “Kill Bill,” “The Weekend” and “Good Days.” SZA gave Dreamville Fest a full show and owed Dreamers nothing with her exciting headlining set to shut down the first day.
Day 2 began on the Shine Stage with a performance by Atlanta R&B singer Chase Shakur. An artist whose stock is on the rise, he got his brief set started with the interlude “i don’t wanna fall in love, it’s too late now” from his debut album It’ll Be Fine, which dropped in 2022. He next performed “comes with the damage” and “honda civic ’98” from the same project. Chase made the most out of his short time and wrapped up his impressive set with “x’s n o’s” and “slide” from his latest album it’s not you, it’s me...it’s love.
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In addition to contemporary R&B artists, Dreamville Fest made sure to include some classic ’90s R&B flavor and invited living legend Monica. She started her set a little late (assumed to be attributed to technical/sound difficulties), but she made the best of her time once she was on stage. Monica graciously thanked the overflowing crowd for coming to see her and performed some of her biggest hits over the years.
She set the tone with the ballad “U Should’ve Known Better” from her 2003 album After The Storm. Mo then took us all the way back to 1995, smoothly delivering her classic “Before You Walk Out My Life” from her precocious debut Miss Thang. More timeless classics from her vast catalog followed, including “Angel Of Mine” from her The Boy Is Mine album before she circled back to her first album and ended her iconic set with “Why I Love You So Much” and “Don’t Take It Personal (Just One Of Dem Days).”
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The energy became more elevated at Dreamville as the day progressed, and who better keep things amped up than the dynamic duo Rae Sremmurd? Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi brought their high energy and big vibes when they ran onto the stage for their set. Their onstage setup included bright, colorful visuals on the rear screen that matched their personalities to a T. They encouraged crowd participation from the jump as they asked everyone to yell where they were from and received a raucous response.
The fellas set it off with “No Type” and “Come Get Her,” two bangers from their debut album SremmLife. They followed up with “Swang” from SremmLife 2, and their energy level stayed high. Most of the crowd was right there with them, singing and rapping right along with the duo as their set continued with “No Flex Zone” and “This Could Be Us.”
- Advertisement -Rae Sremmurd switched up the tempo with Jhené Aiko’s hit “Sativa” on which they were featured. The guys had the crowd in the palm of their hand at this point. They kept it mellow for “Not So Bad (Leans Gone Cold)” before wrapping their thorough performance with Swae Lee’s Post Malone collab “Sunflower,” “Black Beatles” and “Powerglide.” They ventured down into the massive crowd to greet some of the fans before returning to the stage to officially end with “Throw Sum Mo” and give Nicki Minaj a huge shout-out.
After another day full of performances, it was now time for the main event. This year marked the debut of a brand new expansive stage designed for J. Cole’s grand finale at Dreamville Festival. The staging included several props that remind Cole of his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. The record-setting audience anxiously awaited Cole’s performance and couldn’t wait to see the special guests he would bring out.
- Advertisement -Once the curtain lifted and the festival’s creator and headliner appeared, a huge roar erupted. Cole sat on the hood of a car dressed in a red hockey jersey that read “DREAMER” and jumped right into rocking the mic.
His first cut was an abbreviated version of “Crocodile Tearz” from his latest project Might Delete Later, which he followed with his 2019 classic “MIDDLE CHILD.” Next up was a song imminently relatable to most, “Wet Dreamz” from his third album 2014 Forest Hills Drive. Fans recited his bars right along with him, which was amazing to witness. Cole spent a few minutes talking to the audience before performing “A Tale Of 2 Citiez” and dedicating the track to his Day 1s.
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After performing “G.O.M.D” and “Power Trip,” Cole invited several of his artist friends on stage. First up was Jeremih, who stayed in town after his Saturday afternoon performance to blaze their collab “Planez” and his smash “oui” before exiting. The next surprise pop-up was courtesy of 6LACK, who joined J. on “Pretty Little Fears” before contributing his songs “Nonchalant” and “PRBLMS.”
Following that R&B detour, Cole invited rapper Benny The Butcher on to spit their collab “Johnny P’s Caddy” and his joint “Rubber Bands & Weight.” Lil Yachty was next to make an appearance on the big stage, and he teamed with Cole on their jam “The Secret Recipe” before soloing on “Strike (Holster).”
J. Cole brought out a few artists on his Dreamville Records roster – BAS, Cozz, Lute, JID, Omen and EARTHGANG – to perform with him. They kicked “Under The Sun” and “Down Bad” from the compilation Revenge Of The Dreamers III and “H.Y.B.” off of Might Delete Later. London rapper Central Cee made it an international affair when he joined the Dreamville fam and added a few songs of his own, including “Sprinter” and “Doja.” The final artist to collab with Cole on stage was Lil Durk to perform their Grammy Award-winning hit “All My Life.”
J. Cole’s festival ending set took a surprising turn when he made a speech expressing his regret for releasing the record “7 Minute Drill” on Might Delete Later. He mentioned that he didn’t want to diss Kendrick Lamar and that he has tremendous respect for him. After that very humble and real moment, Cole ended with his classics “Love Yourz” and “No Role Modelz.”
Dreamville Festival 2024 ended strong and has us looking forward to what Dreamville Festival 2025 will bring!
