One of Raleigh, North Carolina’s biggest music festivals is almost here! Every year, J. Cole and Dreamville Records hosts a music festival, bringing together some of the top hip-hop, r&b, and rap artists currently out in North Carolina’s capital, Raleigh. This is one of the most anticipated music festivals for hip-hop, r&b, and rap fans, bringing people from all over to the area. Always waiting months to announce the lineup after tickets go on sale, Dreamville Records leaves people guessing who could possibly be on the lineup for the year. Guessing these artists is always one of my favorite activities leading up to the announcement, so in honor of Dreamville 2024, here are my guesses for the lineup!
NICKI MINAJ
Although Nicki herself already confirmed that she will be in attendance at Dreamville 2024 through her tour dates, I still think it’s important to mention her in my guesses. There are usually three headliners at Dreamville and I’m expecting Nicki Minaj to be one of these headliners as she is one of the biggest women in hip-hop.
With Nicki I believe that Lil Wayne and Drake will also make appearances. I don’t think they’ll be headliners or even have their own sets as they have both already been headliners at Dreamville in previous years; however, Lil Wayne has made an appearance the last 2 years and with how many collaborations he has with Nicki, I believe he will be there. As well, Drake and J. Cole are currently on tour together and there is a gap in their tour schedule when Dreamville occurs, so I’m guessing that the gap means that they will both be at Dreamville.
21 SAVAGE
As 21 Savage just recently dropped a popular album, I believe that he may also be a headliner at Dreamville 2024. Not only did he just drop an album that has been all over the charts, but he has been a rapper in the spotlight for years.
21 Savage and Drake just came off tour for their collaboration album “Her Loss” . As J. Cole and Drake are now currently on tour together, I am led to believe that Drake will make an appearance; therefore, I think it’s safe to assume that Drake could also make an appearance during 21 Savage’s set, singing a few of their songs together.
BRENT FAIYAZ
My guess that Brent Faiyaz will be a headliner at Dreamville 2024 is more of a hope and manifestation on my end! Despite me really wanting him to be there, I think there’s still a base behind guessing that he may be a performer. Brent just came off a very successful tour last year for his newer album “Larger Than Life” that was on the charts for months. He has been on the come up for the past few years and would make a great addition to Dreamville as a popular R&B artist.
Brent and 21 Savage have a very popular song, “Should’ve Wore a Bonnet” from 21 Savage’s new album “American Dream”. With this song, I think if 21 Savage and Brent are both headliners that they can perform this song and bring in lots of audiences.
SZA
Continuing my idea that J. Cole will be bringing very popular artists, who may have just come off successful tours and dropped popular albums, I think SZA is a great guess for a potential headliner. SZA is one of those artists that everyone knows at least one song of. Her most recent album “SOS” was award winning and she has been teasing dropping her new album “Lana”.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
I wanted to mention a few ‘honorable mentions’, or artists who I think may be performing, just not as headliners. Every year the people signed to Dreamville Records, like J.I.D, Bas, and EARTHGANG perform, so they will definitely be on the lineup. With them, I think Kali Uchis, who just dropped a new album, would be a good choice for a performer. Sexyy Red has been taking the internet by storm and has multiple hit songs, so she is a good guess for a performer. Ice Spice has also been putting out one hit song after another so I believe she would be a good addition to the Dreamville lineup. Lil Yatchy is also a good guess for a performer because he and J. Cole dropped a pretty popular song late 2023 called “The Secret Recipe”. My last guess for a smaller performer who might be on the lineup is Rob49 because J. Cole tends to bring one or two trap rap artists to perform every year and with Rob49 on the come up I think he’d be a great addition.
The lineup usually comes out at the end of February or early March, so we’ll know if my predictions are true very soon!