Dreamville Records
| Dreamville Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Interscope Records |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | J. Cole Ibrahim Hamad |
| Distributor(s) | Interscope Records |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | New York City, New York |
| Official website | dreamville |
Dreamville Records is a record label founded and owned by American rapper J. Cole, and Dreamville Records A&R and President Ibrahim Hamad. There are currently six artists signed to the label, J. Cole, Bas, Omen, Cozz, Lute, and Ari Lennox. Dreamville also houses producers Elite, Ron Gilmore, K-Quick, and Cedric Brown.[1]
History
2007-2013
J. Cole and Omen first met when they were teenagers on a blog, where they used to share rhymes and battle each other. They later met in person when the Dreamville brand was created with J. Cole and Ibrahim Hamad. Cole released three mixtapes, The Come Up (2007), The Warm Up (2009), and Friday Night Lights (2010), and Omen released two mixtapes, Delayed (2010) and Afraid of Heights (2011).
J. Cole released his debut album Cole World: The Sideline Story on September 27, 2011, selling 218,000 copies in the first week of its release. His sophomore album, Born Sinner was released on June 18, 2013, selling 297,000 copies in its first week of release.
2014-present
On January 28, 2014, J. Cole announced that his record label Dreamville Records had signed AES a distribution deal with Interscope Records, while releasing the first Dreamville collaborative mixtape, Revenge of the Dreamers.[2] On the same day he announced the signing of Queens-based rapper, Bas. His debut album, Last Winter was released on April 29, 2014.[3]
On June 26, 2014, J. Cole officially announced the signing of Los Angeles-based rapper, Cozz.[4] His debut album was titled Cozz & Effect and was released on October 3, 2014.[5] On December 9, J. Cole released his third album titled 2014 Forest Hills Drive, which marks as the labels first platinum album.
On July 21, 2015, Omen released his long awaited debut album titled Elephant Eyes including features from label-mates, J. Cole and Bas.[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 singer Ari Lennox.[7]
On January 4, 2016, Cozz released his second project, as a free mixtape, titled Nothin' Personal. On March 4, 2016, Bas released his second album Too High to Riot
Roster
Current artists
| Act | Year signed |
Releases under the label |
|---|---|---|
| J. Cole | Co-Founder | 3 |
| Omen | 2007 | 1 |
| Bas | 2014 | 2 |
| Cozz | 2014 | 1 |
| Lute | 2015 | - |
| Ari Lennox | 2015 | - |
In-house producers
| Act | Year signed |
|---|---|
| J. Cole | Co-Founder |
| Omen | 2007 |
| Elite | 2007 |
| Ron Gilmore | 2010 |
| K-Quick | 2014 |
| Cedric Brown | 2014 |
| Meez | 2014 |
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2011 | J. Cole – Cole World: The Sideline Story
|
| 2013 | J. Cole – Born Sinner
|
| 2014 | Bas – Last Winter
|
Cozz – Cozz & Effect
| |
J. Cole – 2014 Forest Hills Drive
| |
| 2015 | Omen – Elephant Eyes
|
Dreamville - Revenge of the Dreamers II
| |
| 2016 | J. Cole - Forest Hills Drive: Live
|
Bas - Too High to Riot
| |
Ron Gilmore - The Maturation of Little Ron
|
Upcoming releases[8]
| Artist | Album | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lute | West1996 pt.2 |
|
| Ari Lennox | TBA |
|
Mixtapes
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2007 | J. Cole – The Come Up
|
| 2009 | J. Cole – The Warm Up
|
| 2010 | J. Cole – Friday Night Lights
|
Omen – Delayed
| |
| 2011 | Bas – Quarter Water Raised Me Vol. 1
|
Omen – Afraid of Heights
| |
| 2013 | Bas – Quarter Water Raised Me Vol. 2
|
| 2014 | Dreamville – Revenge of the Dreamers
|
| 2016 | Cozz - Nothin' Personal
|
References
- ^ "J. Cole Returns To North Carolina For 'Dreamville Weekend'". RapFix.
- ^ Goddard, Kevin. "J. Cole - Revenge Of The Dreamers Feat. Dreamville [New Mixtape]". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ Z, DJ. "Bas - Last Winter". DJBooth. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ Gruger, William. "5 Questions With Cozz, J. Cole's New Dreamville Artist". Billboard. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ Ortiz, Edwin. "Stream Cozz's "Cozz & Effect" Album". Complex. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ Lyons, Patrick. "Stream Omen's "Elephant Eyes"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ Ortiz, Edwin. "J. Cole Signs Two New Artists to Dreamville Records". Complex. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ http://2dopeboyz.com/2015/12/07/j-cole-dreamville-revenge-of-the-dreamers-2-out-now/?utm_content=buffer4ec04&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
