The long-awaited Dreamville Festival took place in Raleigh, North Carolina, over the weekend.
The festival, which is an annual showcase by Dreamville co-founder J. Cole, was headlined by Cole himself, Usher, Drake and Burna Boy.
The festival also featured performances from the likes of Lil Durk, Ari Lennox, City Girls, Bas, Sean Paul and Earthgang, and marked its first showcase in three years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sunday, which was the closing night, was headlined by J. Cole and Drake. During their headline set, J. Cole stopped the show to pay homage to the Canadian star for his impact on the music industry over the past 15 years.
“I’m such a f***** fan, and I feel like I’m speaking for all of us when I say this bro, we are f***** wowed, amazed, blown away by your greatness bro,” he said.
“It gives a n**** chills to you do this sh*t at the highest level nonstop and constantly service and bless us with the soundtrack to our lives. I’m blown away by your greatness bro, thank you. Y’all make some noise for Drizzy Drake.”
J. Cole giving Drake his flowers at Dreamville Fest 🫂pic.twitter.com/cjKYFg88ax
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) April 3, 2023
The two then shared a long embrace before they continued with the show.
During his set, J. Cole performed several of his biggest hits, including “Middle Child”, “Power Trip”, “No Role Modelz” and “A Lot”.
He also performed some fan favourite early recordings like “Villematic” and “Who Dat”.
Towards the end of the show, Drake returned the favour by getting the entire crowd to show Cole some love by singing for him.
“Drake had everyone at Dreamville Fest sing ‘I’ll Always Love You’ by Whitney Houston for J. Cole to show their appreciation for him ❤️,” shared @nfr_podcast on Twitter.
Drake had everyone at Dreamville Fest sing "I’ll Always Love You" by Whitney Houston for J. Cole to show their appreciation for him ❤️ pic.twitter.com/B6ShqP96Sy
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) April 3, 2023
Grammy Award-winning Afrobeats star Burna Boy also took to the stage as one of the headliners during the weekend. During his set he performed songs like “Last Last”, “On The Low, “Gbona” and “Ye”, which was a crowd favourite.
“Burna Boy performing Last Last at #DreamvilleFest,” one fan posted. “Nahhhh J Cole knew exactly what he was doing with this line-up. The African Giant on stage is different 🔥🔥.”