J Cole has been teasing his retirement for years. He has stated multiple times that he will no longer be rapping after dropping “The Fall Off.” The thing is, every rapper has threatened to retire at one point or another. None of them. It’s almost a sign of an artist’s success if they can weave a story out of a possible retirement. That said, J Cole is definitely selling this. The rapper has launched a podcast looking back at his previous work. Now, he claims that the upcoming Dreamville Music Festival will be his last.
Dreamville Fest announced the 2025 dates via social media. As with previous announcements, this is a standard rollout. Except for one key detail. The reveal of the date confirmed that the fifth edition of Dreamville Music Festival will be the last ever. “It’s been an amazing journey,” the official Twitter account wrote. “We can’t be more grateful for the memories we’ve shared.” There was widespread confusion about the announcement. Some are hoping this is a misunderstanding, maybe even a technical detail, allowing the feast to continue in a different form.
J Cole moves forward with his retirement plans
J Cole’s manager Ibrahim Hamad confirmed that this was not the case. Dreamville Fest will be completed after 2025, plain and simple. “Let’s run one last time and have a special weekend in North Carolina,” he wrote on Twitter. “True love to you guys for always supporting us and making this weekend special.” J Cole Podcast co-host Hamad also thanked everyone who made the festival possible. “I love you all so much. “No one has any idea how much effort and work it takes to put this all together,” he wrote, “but know that you guys make it so much more worth it every year.
The last Dreamville Fest was not the rousing success that many expected. J Cole took the stage to apologize for criticizing Kendrick Lamar during his song “7 Minute Drill.” He called the song the “weirdest shit” he’d ever recorded and promised to remove it from streaming. Fans are very confused by the rapper’s decision. J. Cole’s admission of error cast a pall over the entire festival. However, J. Cole has done an excellent job of reshaping his narrative since the beef saga subsided. We hope that Dreamville Fest 2025 can be the grand finale that fans have been waiting for.
About the author
Elias Andrews is the music and entertainment writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH in 2024 as chief night writer, which means he covers new releases every week. In the year since joining, Elias has covered some of the biggest, most tumultuous stories in music. He’s been covering Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s battle on the fly, especially with the release of topics like “Family Matters” and “Meet the Grahams.” He also detailed a list of ongoing allegations and criminal charges against Diddy. Elias’ favorite artists are Andre 3000, MF Doom, pre-808s Kanye West and Tyler, The Creator. He likes L.A. hip-hop, but not L.A. sports teams. The first album he bought was Will Smith’s “Big Willie Style,” which he thinks still sounds great.
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