Dreamville Records

Rapper J. Cole founded the label in 2007

During the composition of The Come Up, Cole started his own record label in early 2007 with current Sudanese-American label president Ibrahim Hamad. Cole and Hamad met while attending St. John's University. Cole sought for an avenue to release his own music, while Hamad yearned to start a record label, prompting the two to team up to form Dreamville Records.[2] Rapper Omen has been affiliated with Dreamville since the beginning, Omen and Cole met on rapper Canibus chat forum at age 17, where they shared music.[3] Omen was also featured on Cole's mixtapes, The Warm Up (2009) and Friday Night Lights (2010).

The Dreamville Records logo has been since changed when the label signed a deal with Interscope

On January 28, 2014, at a show at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Cole announced that his Dreamville imprint had signed a distribution deal with Interscope Records. Attendees at the show received a flyer announcing the deal and a mixtape, titled Revenge of the Dreamers. On the same day Cole announced the signing of Queens-based rapper, Bas. Cole spoke with Billboard about the Interscope deal saying: "We've been dreaming about a label situation for years." "The deal's been official since late December, and we'd been working on it for a while before that, but it felt too important to just go out and yell it right when it happened. It needed a more grand announcement." Cole explained that talks with Interscope began when Joie Manda, Interscope president of urban music, reached out to him in 2013, Cole said: "I thought he wanted me to produce someone over there and I was excited about that, but then he told me that he really believed in me as an executive, a label CEO and a producer. A Dr. Dre to his Jimmy Iovine. He had the vision."[4]

On June 26, 2014, J. Cole officially announced the signing of Los Angeles-based rapper, Cozz.[5] Omen didn't officially sign with the Interscope deal until after his debut album in 2015.[6] On December 8, 2015, Dreamville released a collaborative album titled, Revenge of the Dreamers II, officially announcing two new label signees, Charlotte rapper, Lute and Washington D.C. singer Ari Lennox.[7] In an interview with the Rap Radar Podcast, Ibrahim Hamad broke down the self-sufficiency of the artists on the label saying: "I like letting them figure out what their path is. I look at it like, because we learned what learned from Cole being signed, what I like to do is [say] ‘what is your vision, and let us help you’. I don't ever want to tell an artist no you can't do that, that's not fair to them.[8]

On February 20, 2017 Dreamville announced the signing of East Atlanta-based rapper JID.[9] Dreamville announced the signing of duo EarthGang on August 31, 2017, the duo consist of Atlanta-based rappers Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot. Both EarthGang and JID have previously toured with Dreamville affiliates in 2014, before signing to the label.[10][11]

On January 6, 2019, Dreamville announced a 10-day recording session in Atlanta for the label's third compilation album Revenge of the Dreamers III, ending on January 16.[12] During the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dreamville held multiple events scheduled for the weekend, starting with an exclusive limited edition merchandise pop-up shop, a Dreamville brunch, and a private concert featuring the artists on the label taking place after the All Star game.[13][14] On June 12, 2019, the first two singles from the album were released: "Down Bad" featuring J. Cole, JID, Bas, EarthGang, and Young Nudy,[15] and "Got Me" featuring Ari Lennox, Omen, Ty Dolla Sign, and Dreezy.[16] Both singles were released together as an extended play titled, 1-888-88-DREAM on all streaming platforms. The EP's title is referencing the 1-888-88-DREAM phone number that Cole used to announce the original Revenge of the Dreamers in 2014.[17] The album was released on July 5 to critical acclaim from critics and debuted at number one the US Billboard 200, selling 115,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.[18]

In October 2011, Cole established The Dreamville Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Foundation says that it was "created to 'bridge the gap' between the worlds of opportunity and the urban youth" of Cole's hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. With volunteers, the Foundation conducts philanthropic activities, such as an annual "Back To School Supply Giveaway" to provide supplies to school children.[29] The Foundation also launched a book club for young men and sponsored "The Nobody's Perfect Writing Contest and Mother's Day Brunch" for students. It sponsors an annual weekend of Fayetteville community events called the "Dreamville Weekend" that features a discussion with the Young Men's Book Club and Appreciation Dinner and a Career Day panel of African-American professionals in a variety of fields.[30]

In 2014, Cole purchased his childhood home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for $120,000 through the Dreamville Foundation. The home had been repossessed from his mother years earlier, while Jermaine was attending college in New York. His plan is to turn the house into a homestead for single mothers and their children to live rent-free. In 2017 NFL player Colin Kaepernick donated $32,000 to the foundation. The money will fund multiple projects for the organization.[31]

In September 2018, the Dreamville Foundation unveiled a new initiative to aid victims of Hurricane Florence in Fayetteville, NC. According to the foundation's website, donated funds will go toward "hot food stations placed throughout the city, temporary housing options for families, and stocking of food pantries/shelters", as well as local charities that provide services to Fayetteville residents.[32]

On April 27, 2018, J. Cole announced the Dreamville Festival, the festival featuring local music, culture, food and art, and also include a mix of up-and-comers and national acts. It is expected to be an annual festival.[33] However, in the wake of Hurricane Florence, the event was postponed from its original date. The festival was rescheduled and be held at the historic Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina on April 6, 2019. The lineup included all of Dreamville's artists as well as SZA, Big Sean, Nelly, 21 Savage, 6LACK, Davido, Teyana Taylor, Saba, Rapsody, and Mez.[34] The Dreamville Festival plan to donate proceeds to the Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy and the Dreamville Foundation.[35] The festival sold out with a capacity of 40,000 people to become the largest event in Raleigh. Ibrahim Hamad remarked on the festival saying "We're not like other companies that are based in a city. Our label is very much an idea, more so than an actual physical place. So you can create it and take it everywhere. To bring that into the festival—where you can just create a place and make it Dreamville and be able to bring people there—was always this cool goal. And that's what makes it unique. It's not based in an actual city. It's just based in our minds."[36]

For the 2020 season, the Dreamville Festival is front-of-jersey sponsor for USL Championship soccer team North Carolina FC.[37] The second annual festival was initially slated for April 4, 2020 however, due to the coronavirus pandemic it was postponed and eventually cancelled.[38]

• Official website