Although Dreamville plays the conventional role of an artist-owned record label, in many ways, it feels that an additional function of the imprint is to act as a long-form celebration of the culture of hip-hop itself.
Owned and operated by a veritable student of the game, J. Cole’s imprint is a bastion of creativity within a timeframe where following templates has become the norm. In response, Cole and his partner Ibrahim “IB” Hamad have gone out of their way to seek new voices, encourage dissenting approaches and, above all, keep the collaborative spirit alive.
Set against the backdrop of Cole’s concerns that he would get to the end of his career and "not have songs with nobody," the label’s general would embark on the most prolific feature run in recent memory in which every verse became a headline. At the same time, the recording of the legendary Revenge Of The Dreamers III saw the assembly of one of the greatest supergroups that the genre has ever seen, spawning posse cuts between producers and MCs that sounded like they were pulled directly out of fantasy brackets. Over the course of their 10-day spell of recordings, over 124 tracks were recorded.
Three years on, the label has veered away from compilation albums in an attempt to add to the classic canon of mixtapes with D-Day. Eschewing conceptual baggage to focus on rhyming prowess, it’s only fitting that, much as Tyler did when he looked to celebrate his love of rapping on Call Me If You Get Lost, they’ve called upon the hosting services of none other than Gangsta Grillz architect DJ Drama. An homage to the golden era of both physical tapes and the online mixtape era, Dreamville’s entry to Drama’s hallowed series is one that is defined by the distinct personalities and artistic idiosyncrasies of its core team.
Employing a vast palette of production across its length in a way that could come across as incohesive in less skilled hands, the tape sets out on a rambunctious note with the Kenny Mason and Sheck Wes-aided “Stick.”
Fusing regal horns with Mason’s yelped vocals, it proves that any tendencies towards hip-hop purism that the label’s kingpin once had are long gone. Built around a cathartic co-production from Christo, Araabmuzik and Beat Butcha, the track displays Dreamville as masters of contrast, with the understated verses by JID serving as the perfect accompaniment to the hyperactive contributions of Kenny Mason and Sheck Wes. In the case of the latter, they end up doing more for his stock than Cactus Jack has since the Mudboy days.
While for Cole, he’s well and truly still in the mindset of showing off, firing off pitch-perfect lines like “Thirsty for the clout, talkin' too brazenly/Bullet hit his mouth, at least he died tastefully” with the breeziness that only he can.
Slowing the pace from frenetic to contemplative, DJ Drama’s topical reference to the Will Smith incident – “Keep playing with Dreamville's name, don't get Chris Rocked out your socks”– on “Starting 5” is likely to be the dominant legacy but in some ways, that’s an injustice. Apart from that, this Wyldefire-helmed take on modern jazz rap plays a more important role as a showcase for Dreamville’s most underutilized and underrated trio.
Setting off proceedings with fervor, Lute delivers with the consistency that we’ve come to expect and he will later seize upon an opportunity to occupy his own space within the project on the joyfully motivated "Like Wine."
Arguably the most unsung member of the entire roster, Cozz comes through with something to prove, spitting
I ain't seen the sun in months
But how can I complain when some fathers ain't seen they sons in months? (Damn)
Some are stuck overseas, some are stuck six feet under us (Damn)
But even through the downs that we seen, we still coming up.
In its concluding section, a deft beat switch permits Omen to change the tone into something nearly vengeful. Eager to remind everyone that he deserves his place on anyone’s radar, his other contribution on “Ballin’ In Newport” takes us back to the boombap of New York in the 90s– which returns later when Cozz takes a spin on Biggie’s “Who Shot Ya?” for "Big Trouble Freestyle"– with a beat that could have easily been exhumed from Havoc’s archives.
Opting for an autobiographical approach that charts his journey before facing the critiques of his music head-on, you can practically feel the urgency in the pit of Omen's soul as he speaks of "tryna get known, thirsting for approval, it's usual/My pen touch your heart like voodoo."
While he likely has the most fleeting runtime of any artist on the project, Cole makes his scant appearances count in much the same way as he did on tracks such as the resolutely honest “Sacrifice” from ROTD3.
Floating over pitched-up vocal samples and intricate drum patterns, “Freedom Of Speech” harks back to the Friday Night Lights days in terms of the sheer tenacity that radiates from his verse.
An extension of the energy that he’s exuded of late across both The Offseason and his fearsome guest spot on Benny The Butcher’s "Johnny P’s Caddy," this highlight sees Cole continue his run of masterful, anti-materialistic humble brags, spitting, "I'm ill, fuck how you feel, Don't need no goofy-ass Richard Mille for your bitch to tell that I'm rich as hell."
Four agonizing years removed from his last full-length projects, JID’s appearances can’t help but feel like the calm before the storm. On "Barry From Simpson," the self-professed East Atlanta Playboy proves that he’s simply impervious to delivering anything close to an underwhelming verse. With his confidence seemingly at an all-time high, JID’s laidback charisma practically leaps out of the speakers in a way that would render a guest verse from anyone other than Tity Boi an afterthought.
However, this is by no means the only notable awakening on this tape, and in the case of Ari Lennox’s duo of appearances, it’s just a relief to hear her return.
Delivering those show-stopping vocals that modern R&B fans have come to covet, “Coming Down” invokes a trap era- Erykah Badu as she exorcizes the demons of a toxic, narcotics-stained relationship. By the time “Blackberry Sap” rolls around, her introduction as “the one, the only” feels entirely justified. The kind of stylishly lustful ode to the object of her affections that she produces with unmatched style, it’s a track that seems predestined for heavy rotation for months, if not years to come.
Naturally, Ari could sound out of place on a conventional Gangsta Grillz, but such is the versatility of Dreamville’s roster that she is given ample time to put the world on notice that when she finally does drop her long-awaited new album, we’re in for something special.
Despite its many highlights, there are moments on D-Day that don’t quite come off as intended or feel inessential.
A broader outreach to Cozz’s native West Coast, “Hair Salon” with G Perico and TDE’s Reason is an instance where each individual component is excellent, but the end product still feels disjointed. Likewise, Earthgang’s “Everybody Ain’t Shit” attempts to recapture the lightheartedness of some of ROTD3’s more outwardly jovial moments ("1993," "Wells Fargo") but feels inherently throwaway.
Having said that, the Atlanta duo have plenty of moments to shine and the Bas-assisted "Jozi Flows" is a prime example of what happens when all the pieces are sewn together with style points to spare.
Brought to life over an unsettlingly serene beat from Michael “DZL” Holmes, the track is very much owned by Earthgang’s Johnny Venus and attests to why he’s one of the most captivating and original voices in the game today.
Once the bedlam dies down, D-Day ends on a note of fan service, with Cole finally obliging all of those who’d asked for the “Pipe Down” rework of “Heaven’s EP” to be added to streaming services. But while this may seem like a missed opportunity, it’s actually appropriate as at the end of the day, appealing to their audience is precisely what this project is all about.
Seemingly devised in just 10 days and approved by Interscope the day before its release, D-Day is an exercise in whetting appetites ahead of what has the potential to be another huge year for the Dreamville camp. Containing no shortage of tracks that display the disparate strengths of its roster and will loom large in the memory and playlists of fans, the mixtape may not be consequential in a broader sense as ROTD3 was, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this informal yet accomplished collection for exactly what it is.