Dreamville’s Revenge: How Showing your Work Became the Best Way to Build Hype

In January, the hype began for a new project from J. Cole’s label, Dreamville. Having recently softened my stance as a resound J Cole hater, my interest was piqued. As fellow Reddit-based rap nerds will tell you, however, the initial hype for this project had little to do with J Cole himself, instead it was the artists he was sharing the studio with.

About a year before this album roll-out, I had started to gain a lot of interest in Dreamville and the artists coming out of it. One of my more “J Cole-appreciative” friends would always turn me on the latest Dreamville release. His recommendations were often greeted with a lukewarm response. The first was J.I.D, an Atlanta rapper quickly gaining popularity in the underground internet community. My friend had sent me The Never Story earlier in the year, and I dismissed it after one listen. After some more recommendations later in the year, I returned to it and found the project and artist deserved a lot more credit than I had previously given. He had a knack for melody, a killer flow, and filled short songs with a lot of personality and charisma.

My J.I.D awakening quickly turned into something bigger. I bought tickets to his upcoming Seattle show featuring EARTHGANG (another Dreamville artist). I looked into their work, and I was hooked. Then came Bas and Cozz. Soon I was a legitimate Dreamville fan. I would’ve worn a free T shirt!

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