As music listeners, we've grown so accustomed to the convenience of streaming platforms that those of us who use them run the risk of forgetting the songs that didn't make the transition. That's not to say the songs themselves go unappreciated, but they fall by the wayside all too often. For J. Cole, one of the songs that got away was "Be Free," a song Cole wrote following the death of Michael Brown in 2014. 

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At the time of its SoundCloud release, Cole shared a message about the song: "Rest in Peace to Michael Brown and to every young black man murdered in America, whether by the hands of white or black. I pray that one day the world will be filled with peace and rid of injustice. Only then will we all Be Free." Given everything that is currently going on six years removed from Brown's killing, many listeners have taken to revisiting "Be Free."

Seeing as the track has yet to hit streaming platforms, many have taken to asking Dreamville's Ibrahim H with direct requests. As he explains, the pieces are already in place for the transition to happen. "I’ve def seen a bunch of y’all tweets and got a bunch of texts asking for “Be Free” on streaming services," he writes. "I spoke to Cole today though had to let him know about that and he with so let me work on getting up this week."

Cozz and Reason are no strangers. The pair of rappers are members of two of the most respected rap imprints in the game right now, with Dreamville Records home to the former, and TDE housing the latter. They've collaborated before too, with their stand-out "Lambo Truck" off the Dreamville crew compilation receiving a visual treatment. It appears these two have more music in the works together, though.

Riffing on Twitter, the highly underrated emcee Cozz revealed to fans that he and Reason have a joint album they're working on together. "Man this project between me and reason gon be something special. Just wait on it," Cozz shared. When a salty fan replied with a strategy of his own, Cozz was having none of it.

"Idk...... i feel like yall should take the cole and kendrick route. Just build your greatness to the point where u don't need another artist. I still haven't listened to a full ep/lp by u bro," the user wrote in response. Cozz shot him down: "Doing music w somebody doesn’t mean u need them lol."

Reason, for his part, hasn't made mention of this joint effort just yet, but we'll be keeping tabs. This news, though, does come on the heels of another semi-announcement from the Dreamville/TDE camps-- that the long-awaited J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar joint project may not be entirely dead yet. There's still hope.

Let us know if you're excited for the music. Check out Cozz's tweet below.

Bas has earned his position as one of the most talented emcees on J. Cole‘s roster, a fact made wholly evident by his effortless flows on Revenge Of The Dreamers 3. But before he was snapping on “Down Bad,” Bas was putting in work on his highly underrated Milky Way album, a project that featured singles like “Boca Raton,” “Tribe,” and the bar-heavy “Purge.” Today, Bas took a moment to reflect on the final stages of the album, which included a productive listening session with none other than J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar.

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“That time Cole and Kendrick pulled up to my crib to hear Milky Way when I was still working on it,” writes Bas, alongside a throwback picture from his personal archives. “At the time me and Cole were at peace with leaving Purge off the album and leaning more into the melodic records. Dot said we were buggin so I put it back on the album. When the [goats] talk you gotta listen!”

Given that “Purge” has become somewhat of a fan favorite, clocking in an impressive six million views on YouTube, it’s clear that Kendrick made the right call. One has to wonder if Bas was able to convince his label boss to commit to that anticipated Kendrick Lamar collaboration album, or if it even came up at all. Either way, it’s cool to see Cole and Kendrick holding it down for Bas — check out the picture and anecdote below. 

Millions of fans worldwide have been met with the disappointing news that their favorite festivals have been canceled, and now another adds itself to the list. It was announced on Friday (May 15) that the Dreamville Festival 2020 has been nixed. It would have been the second-annual event for the label and artists were all set to take to the stages in Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. Unfortunately, like many others, the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine have put festival producers in precarious positions as to how they should move forward. Dreamville decided that they would rather be safe than sorry, so for now, the festival has been canceled.

Dreamville bosses penned an open letter about the sad news. Read it in full below.

After much deliberation and careful monitoring of the current situation, we have decided to cancel Dreamville Festival 2020. Although we originally hoped it would be possible to bring you the festival this August, the ongoing uncertainty regarding the COVID-19 pandemic has made this timeline no longer possible. This decision has been extremely difficult to make, but the safety of our fans, artists, and staff is always our top priority, and nothing will ever take precedence over your well-being.

All 2020 event ticket holders, including those that previously requested a refund, will be automatically refunded on, or before May 22nd, and it will take 7-10 days for the funds to be returned to your original method of payment if you purchased your tickets through Front Gate Tickets. We understand that this is a difficult time for many and sincerely apologize to those who were waiting on their refund as we worked through unforeseen delays in processing due to the pandemic.

Ticketholders who purchased passes through an official street team member, retail outlet, or military sale have to fill out a form to receive a refund. You can stay updated with more information on Dreamville Festival’s website.

The Dreamville camp has reached another milestone as a label and a collective. 2019 was a major year for the crew, especially with the release of Revenge Of The Dreamers 3. Serving as the third compilation project released from the label, they took it up a notch in comparison to the first two installments by rallying up rappers, producers, singers, and songwriters into the studio for 10 days. It was essentially a rap camp that eventually earned two Grammy nods.

Today, they've received some even better news. The compilation album has officially moved 1M records nearly eleven months after its release. Chartdata revealed that Revenge Of The Dreamers 3 has officially reached platinum status. Unfortunately for J. Cole stans, they can not brag about Cole going platinum with no features this time around but it's still a big win for the crew and hip-hop as a whole. 

Though the album dropped on July 5th and soundtracked the remainder of summer 2019 for many, they did end up dropping off a deluxe edition of the album earlier this year which undoubtedly helped boost the sales in some sort of way.

It's unclear if there are any plans in place for a follow-up to their 2019 compilation album. Even if there isn't, we can't imagine that Dreamville isn't keeping the creative juices flowing in some capacity during quarantine.

Every so often, hip-hop brings two like-minded entities together, kindred spirits if you will. Case in point, EarthGang has officially connected with none other than Wale, a rapper who brings as much soul and energy to the table as the Dreamville duo. Together, they came through and put together a song that may or may not be titled “Options,” and EarthGang took a moment to hype the track on their Instagram page. 

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“Who wants this new heat with us and @Wale???? DROP A [Green heart emoji] IF YOU GOT #OPTIONS,” captions EarthGang, inviting fans to get the ball rolling. The post features footage of Wale’s recent Instagram Livestream, during which he provided a thorough glimpse at the upcoming bop. The snippet features a fair amount of Olu, who rides the bouncy instrumental with a lovesick verse. “You hang up that brand new dress, you clean up that same ol’ mess, but it’s beautiful,” he sing-raps, before passing the mic to Wale.

Though no release date has yet to be provided, it’s clear the demand for this one is high — Guapdad 4000, Tay Keith, MixedbyAli, and more have already shown some IG love. And while it’s unclear as to when exactly the track was recorded, EarthGang described it as being “new-new,” far removed from the Dreamers 3 sessions. 

The detrimental effects of the coronavirus are numerous, and though music has become a solace for many, even that has found itself disrupted. For J.I.D, who planned on following up 2018's excellent DiCaprio 2 with an album produced entirely by No I.D, his best-laid plans were unfortunately laid to waste. Over the weekend, the Dreamville rapper took to Twitter to vent his frustration with the ongoing situation, which has seemingly led to a stagnation period for the once-prolific writer. 

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The rant started with an alarming declaration, in which J.I.D. declared "this shit no fun no mo." Upon further prodding, he revealed that the problem had nothing to do with writer's block, but had everything to do with the rollout period blues. "man idk what to drop, this shit all wierd now man," he continued, fielding a fan's question about future music.

In response to the rationale that new music is better than no music, J.I.D. was quick to rebuttal with a sad reality. "Ok we do that, then what, no tour? Not getting to see u guys and celebrate, the content and intention of the music is way more important now, I’m tryna line it up perfect cuz it’s hard to create is uncertain times," he maintains.

A fair point, and one that will likely be on the mind of many-an-artist. Either way, we've got nothing but love for J.I.D, and should he decide to wait for things to calm down before releasing, it's a decision that must be respected. Luckily, it's not all dour news -- J.I.D is set to appear on the upcoming Spillage Village album Spilligion, which is due out late spring or early summer.

Though J. Cole is widely recognized as a ble superstar, it’s easy to forget that the man quite simply moves units as a genuine commercial juggernaut. We’ve already seen him pioneer the whole platinum without features movement, a process he has continued to follow long into his career. Last year, he blessed the game with “Middle Child,” a triumphant victory lap that went on to find a home on the acclaimed Revenge Of The Dreamers 3. 

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Since its initial release, the track retained a steady pulse, continuing to prove its replay value to this day. Now, Cole’s most recent solo single has been officially certified five times platinum by the RIAA, a milestone celebrated by Dreamville’s official Instagram page. Never one to brag or boast, Cole himself opted to let the music speak for itself as he vowed to do on 21 Savage’s “A Lot.” Clearly, there’s a method to his movement, one built on a foundation of humility and artistic integrity.

It doesn’t hurt to have an incredible beat from T-Minus in the cut, one that went on to influence Young Thug‘s own “Hot” off So Much Fun, an album Cole actually executive produced. Expect big things to come from Cole in 2020, once all this dust settles. He’s already promised us The Fall Off, and Cole has never been known to bend the truth. 

Ari Lennox has one of the best r’n’b albums of the year with her highly-perfect Shea Butter Baby album. From artwork to sounds to theme– it was on point. If you haven’t heard it, now is the perfect time to dive right in, especially since we’re all just chilling around the house. Many (or rather, Wiz Khalifa) are predicting a baby Quarantine boom, and undoubtedly Ari Lennox’s music can help us achieve such a goal.

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Not only that, she’s really doubling down on the help, opting to release the remix EP for Shea Butter Baby this Friday. She revealed the news on Instagram, unveiling a “remixed” cover art in the process. Her original, nude-themed and muted artwork which showcased her elegantly posing is swapped for something a bit bolder, and much more orange, while her pose is equally has a bit more swagger and give-no-fucks attitude to it.

While she hasn’t left us any details as to what we might expect from the remix EP, we are excited to add this one into the Quarantine Life rotation.

Shea Butter Baby has several appearances on our R&B Season playlist, so keep it locked, as we’ll definitely be adding a few more Ari records to it come Friday.

J. Cole‘s Dreamville Festival is the latest event to be pushed back as a result of the rapidly spreading coronavirus epidemic, as the initial April 4th date has now been delayed by several months. As the world adjusts to the threatening presence of the deadly virus, countless events have been cancelled, and health officials have urged folks to avoid areas with large crowd gatherings. In light of these circumstances, the second annual Dreamville Festival has now been rescheduled to take place on August 29th, 2020. The Dreamville team issued an official statement social media to announce the new date, stating that the event will still be taking place at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Dear Dreamville Family,” the message reads. “We recognize there’s been a lot of questions about the status of Dreamville Festival and in light of recent developments, we are excited to let you know we are moving forward with a new date. While the State of North Carolina and local health officials continue to work to protect the well being of all in the State, we have worked collaboratively to identify the best possible outcome. We are excited to announce that Dreamville Festival will now take place on August 29, 2020 and will remain at Dorothea Dix Park. All tickets for the April event will be honored for the rescheduled date. For any current ticket-buyers unable to attend the rescheduled event, refunds will be offered.”

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“While this decision has been extremely difficult to make,” the statement continues, “the safety of our fans, artists, and staff is always our top priority, and nothing will ever take precedence over your well-being. We now encourage everyone to follow the guidelines and various preventive measures put forth by local and national health authorities. Our team is extremely committed to bringing the event to fruition for all our Dreamville family, and we can’t wait to see everyone in August. We are also very appreciative to the City of Raleigh for helping us find a new date so quickly.”

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The statement also addresses the impending lineup announcement. “Originally, we were scheduled to announce the festival lineup this week and are now working around the clock to reconfirm all performers scheduled for the April date. We hope to announce the full music lineup as early as next week.” J. Cole launched the Dreamville Festival last year, in an effort to give back to his community. The first inauguration featured performances by Dreamville artists including Bas, EARTHGANG, Ari Lennox, JID, Cozz, Omen, and Lute, as well as other big names like Big Sean, 21 Savage, SZA, 6LACK, and more.