This weekend, fans packed the grassy fields of Dix Park in Raleigh for an emotional farewell to the J. Cole-hosted Dreamville Festival.
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The North Carolina native brought his fifth—and final—festival under the Dreamville name to a powerful close, delivering an unforgettable weekend filled with star-studded performances and heartfelt moments.
Saturday night set the tone with a high-energy lineup, including performances by PARTYNEXTDOOR, Ludacris, Chief Keef, Coco Jones, and Keyshia Cole to name a few.
Attendees were then treated to an electric double-header from 21 Savage and Lil Wayne, who took the stage alongside Hot Boys and Big Tymers.
J Cole Closes Final Dreamville Fest with Help From Erykah Badu
By Sunday, anticipation was at its peak as J. Cole took the stage to close out the festival one last time.
The moment unfolded on a stage designed to resemble Cole’s former Queens apartment, known affectionately as “Mohammad’s Crib,” adding a personal touch to the festival’s emotional finale.
One of the most memorable highlights came when Erykah Badu, who had earlier delivered a mesmerizing co-headline set, joined Cole for a surprise performance. The two artists teamed up for the first-ever live rendition of “Too Deep for the Intro,” a fan-favorite track from Cole’s 2010 mixtape Friday Night Lights. The song, which samples Badu’s 2000 hit “Didn’t Cha Know?”, culminated in a warm hug between the two—a symbolic and heartfelt gesture to mark the end of an era.
J Cole Says Dreamville Fest is Here to Stay
During his set, Cole also addressed the future of the festival, confirming that it will continue under a different brand.
“I’ma just let y’all know our plan: we’re still gonna bring you some shit — this festival will still exist. It might not have the Dreamville Festival name on it, but we will be back in this field
It was revealed last week by Dreamville and Roc Nation promoter Sascha Stone Guttfreund that the festival would not be disappearing completely but instead returning under a different name.
“We’re going to be here for years to come. This is a multi-year deal, and we’re so excited to be working with the city of Raleigh together on something new and exciting, and to continue to build on this incredible thing that we’ve done over the years,” he said at a press conference.
