NEWS
J. Cole‘s Dreamville Festival has announced its 2023 return and has revealed what might be its best lineup yet.
Dreamville Festival will return to Raleigh, North Carolina’s Dorothea Dix Park on April 1 and 2. Cole had previously teased the lineup announcement by calling it “the hardest festival lineup ever” on Twitter.
And he didn’t seem to be joking, as Usher is set to headline the Saturday, which will include additional performances from Ari Lennox, Lil Durk, City Girls, Sean Paul, Jessie Reyez, EarthGang and others.
As for Sunday, J. Cole and Drake will close out the festival with a historical dual performance, while the likes of Burna Boy, GloRilla, J.I.D, Summer Walker, Bas and Waka Flocka Flame will also hit the stage.
Tickets are available on the official Dreamville Festival website. Check out the full lineup below:
This year’s Dreamville Festival marks just the third rendition of J. Cole’s musical event. The festival was supposed to kick off in 2018, but was canceled due to Hurricane Florence. Complications struck again in 2020 and 2021 when it was forced to take a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic..
Dreamville Festival came back in full force in 2022, though, with performances from Cole, Lil Baby, Kehlani, Moneybagg Yo, J.I.D, Ja Rule, Ashanti, Wale, T-Pain and others. Lil Wayne, Jeezy and T.I. also joined forces for a star-studded Gangsta Grillz set hosted by DJ Drama.
Drake and Cole’s relationship has been cordial for years now, despite the pair having only worked together twice on 2011’s “In the Morning,” off Cole’s debut LP Cole World: The Sideline Story, and 2013’s “Jodeci (Freestyle).”
Meanwhile, Cole might have Drake to thank for his professional basketball career. After Cole signed with Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Scarborough Shooting Stars last year, Complex reported that Nicholas “Niko” Carino, co-owner of OVO and part-owner of the Shooting Stars, was introduced to Cole at a birthday party hosted by the 6 God.
“You know, Dreamville and OVO are family,” Carino said. “Drake had a birthday party in L.A. last year. The conversation was, ‘I heard you have your team.’ It organically grew from there.”
KATSEYE have officially begun a fresh chapter with the announcement of their forthcoming single, Pinky Up.
The K-pop girl group sparked curiosity online after sharing a string of mysterious posts that quickly had fans trying to piece together the clues.
The first teaser, posted on March 30, featured the Mona Lisa gently raising a hot cup of tea with her pinky finger lifted. The next video, uploaded the next day, showed an arcade claw machine labeled with the group’s name pulling a sword from a mix of sparkling plush toys and a single teacup. Making things even more intriguing, the caption stated: “We’re screaming from cloud nine!!”
Their third update finally revealed the song title along with its cover art. The image showed a figure kneeling on a rug next to a teacup and a toy cat, while the title appeared in bright hot pink text across the visual. The group also confirmed the release date as April 9.
Pinky Up will arrive just one day before KATSEYE appear at Coachella on April 10, which will mark their first time performing at the famous festival.
The single also marks their first comeback since HYBE and Geffen confirmed that member Manon Bannerman would be stepping away for a period of time to prioritize her “health and well being.”
In a message posted on Weverse, they shared: "Hello. After open and thoughtful conversations together, we are sharing that Manon will be taking a temporary hiatus from group activities to focus on her health and wellbeing."
The group expressed that they “fully support this decision,” and added: “KATSEYE remains committed to showing up for one another and for the fans who mean everything to us. We look forward to being together again when the time is right.”
While she is away, the group will continue promotions with Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza and Yoonchae Jeung.
They closed their message by saying: “Thank you to our EYEKONS for your continued love, patience, and understanding.”
