D R E A M V I L L E 2019: The 'Ville Comes To Life
Photo by Adam Sichel
A euphoric wave of loud aroma washes over the casual festival-goer as they enter the grassy knolls of Dreamville. The rolling hills were awash with both the unamused and the completely possessed, reminiscent of The Sound of Music, except instead of seven kids frollicking around singing “Do-Re-Mi,” think forty-thousand people from North Carolina and beyond singing “Ride Wit Me” by Nelly.
Dreamville was not just about “the hits,” according to rapper and festival conceptualist J. Cole, “It’s about the classics.” As artists such as Nelly, SZA, 21 Savage, Teyana Taylor, and many more took the stage at Raleigh’s historic Dorothea Dix Park, one was reminded of the incredible ability music has to bring people together. From headphone-wearing babies to hip grandparents, the 1st Annual Dreamville Music Festival brought a staggering array of people to enjoy the bass thumping, heart-melting sounds of hip hop and R&B.
Past-his-prime Nelly provided the old school crowd with hits like “Hot In Herre” and “Dilemma” (Think No matter what I do, all I think about is you…), while 21 Savage, JID, and Teyana Taylor showed out with radio hits such as “Bank Account,” “Off Deez,” and “Gonna Love Me.”
On the almost opposite end of the spectrum, SZA came out and performed one of the most carefree and enjoyable performances of the night. Interspersed with performances of songs from her debut album, Ctrl, SZA just felt like dancing to “Big Ol Freak” by Megan Thee Stallion, collecting an audience member’s actual wig in the process. (Which was deservedly thrown onto the stage.)
Among the most exciting acts in the Dreamville lineup were lesser known Earthgang, whose energetic stage presence and eclectic fashion choices earned a few thousand followers on their Spotify page. “They are one of my favorite groups at the moment,” said Freshman festival attendee Ben Little, who made sure to get to the front row for their performance.
In fact, Dreamville as a whole highlighted many talented underground artists, contrasting that with mainstream, bland, choices like Nelly and Big Sean (who thankfully performed some Kanye songs to break up the monotony of his own music).
Saba, with his one o’clock performance was aware of his own obscurity and constantly referenced it, making his performance feel like one of the most intimate of the day. As his most recent album, Care For Me, focused on the incredibly personal subject matter of his friend being stabbed, it felt appropriate.
The aforementioned JID brought an incredible amount of vivacity to his performance, even attempting to organize mosh pits in the crowd. Unfortunately, the lack of white teenagers and plethora of 30 year old men meant that the mosh was relatively weak (even in comparison to the one at Charity Ball).
North Carolina native Rapsody performed with a live band of what seemed like a small city, her performance sounding as full as a proper studio album. She was also one of the first artists of the day to recognize and pay homage to the recently deceased Nipsey Hussle, by playing a montage of news clips and music videos.
Nipsey’s presence was felt throughout all who attended the festival, as seemingly every artist performing spoke about him and his impact on the music community as a whole. Festival-goers could even take pictures with cutouts of Nipsey Hussle. It may seem exploitative, but for a festival founded upon the ideas of community under the Dreamville name, and the idea that anyone can accomplish anything as long as they stay true to their dreams, Nipsey’s legacy was undoubtedly the perfect backdrop to Raleigh’s first ever major music festival.
As the sun set over the Raleigh skyline, and 40,000 people from as far as the UK congregated towards the stage, Dreamville was finally coming to a close. But not without the star, the creator, and the dreamer that made this improbable event come together— Jermaine Cole. The man who turned this crazy dream of having hip hop and R&B’s biggest names come together in Raleigh (of all places) into a reality.
Dawning a bright red “Dreamville” basketball jersey, with the unmistakable “Carolina” name engravement, Cole stepped onto the stage to thunderous and deafening applause. The Fayetteville native looked almost as stunned as the rest of us, as he gaped at the sea of people, some having stood in the audience for over six hours in anticipation of this very performance.
They were not to be dissapointed.
Cole brought Dreamville to its epic conclusion, using this spectacular homecoming to pay tribute to the fans, in his words, “That have been ridin’ with me since day one!” Songs such as “Grown Simba,” “Work Out,” and “Love Yourz” showed the evolution of Cole’s earlier works, while more mainstream hits such as “Middle Child,” “ATM,” and “G.O.M.D” reminded us that dreams really do come true.
