The fifth Dreamville Festival went down in Raleigh, N.C., over the weekend, and the event was filled with reunions, energetic sets, and many more highlights. During J. Cole’s headlining set, he surprised the crowd by bringing out Erykah Badu, and the two delivered an extra special moment dedicated to his longtime fans.
Although people were speculating ever since the lineup was announced that this on-stage collab could be a possibility, the moment still sent shockwaves through the massive sea of attendees. After running through older cuts from his catalogue like “Lost Ones” and “Grown Simba,” the Fayetteville spitter queued up “Too Deep For The Intro,” the opening track from his legendary Friday Night Lights mixtape. The song notably includes a sample of “Didn’t Cha Know,” a standout from the neo-soul pioneer’s 2000 Mama’s Gun album.
“All the day one’s, y’all in for a treat,” the Forest Hills Drive creator said as the main stage became entirely engulfed in blue lights. “Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for the absolutely legendary, beautiful, iconic, Badu,” he said as the two vibed together for the fan-favorite intro. Revisit the full circle moment below.
Badu’s appearance, although brief, served as one of the most memorable moments from Cole’s set. Elsewhere during his performance, he tapped into nostalgia once again as he told the story behind his verse on “A Star Is Born” by JAY-Z.
“I’m from Fayetteville and I signed to JAY-Z. You could imagine how crazy that felt,” he said. He then spoke about a phone call he received saying Hov wanted him to come to the studio because he wanted him to hop on a song. “I’m like, ‘Oh my f**king God, that was quick! But I was prepared, I’ve been working a long time and my pen was sharp. I believed in myself. I was nervous… and who the f**k was right next to him? Beyoncé. My motherf**king heart fell out of my chest.”
He continued, “No problem, I’m built for this. He’s playing his album, Blueprint 3, sh*t sound amazing… He said, ‘This is the song I want you on.’ This was a big moment for Carolina, big moment for the ‘Ville. It sounded like this.”
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 06: Erykah Badu performs during the 2025 Dreamville Music Festival at Dorothea Dix Park on April 06, 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images
This iteration of Dreamville Fest was previously marketed as the fifth and final installment of the successful annual event. However, organizers surprised fans with major news ahead of the festival that Dreamville Fest is not quite over yet; it will still return to North Carolina for at least the next four years under a “new and exciting” partnership.
“We’re going to be here for years to come,” said Dreamville and Live Nation festival producer Sascha Stone Guttfreund in the April 3 announcement.
“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.” View a gallery of highlights from this year’s event here including appearances by Lil Wayne and the Hot Boys, Ludacris, GloRilla, Tems, Coco Jones, and so much more.
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