Dreamville, More Than Just Music

J.Cole’s Dreamville festival will happen this Saturday, April 6th in Raleigh’s own Dorathea Dix Park & although the line-up features some of hip-hop & RnB’s top artists, Cole has done an exceptional job planning to make Dreamville more than just your average music showcase. Dreamville will include a putt putt golf course, beer garden, local merchants in a bazaar of vendors, & the “Dreamville Festival Art Wall.” Furthermore, there will be an exclusive lounge space set aside for members of the Divine Nine (black Greek letter organizations/BLGOs).

However, the most unique part of Dreamville– in my opinion– is the “For the Students” session put on by Dreamville in coalition with William Peace University. As a student, employee of the music industry, & attendee of Dreamville hearing the announcement of a “For the Students” greatly excited me. The full title of the off-location event is “For the Students: A Conversation with Ibrahim Hamad & Sacha Stone-Guttenfreund.” This assembly will be held, as previously mentioned, at William Peace University & is open to the public at 6:30 PM. The specific address is 15 E. Peace St, Raleigh, NC 27604. I have copied below the overview of the event provided to WKNC by Dreamville. 

“OFFICIAL OVERVIEW: An in-depth conversation featuring Ibrahim Hamad and Sascha Stone Guttfreund. This conversation will focus on how the relationship between ScoreMore Shows and Dreamville developed, as well as how each "mogul” got to where they are. The event will offer students perspectives & insights on the industry directly from two of the most intelligent behind-the-scenes figures in the game today.“

I took it upon myself, after reading the overview & having my interest piqued, to research both featured speakers. First, Ibrahim Hamad. Hamad is a self-labelled "International Dreamvillain” but is also a close friend to J.Cole as well as his personal manager & the president of Dreamville. Hamad has been working with Cole since before the release of 4 Your Eyez Only, & believes– as stated in an interview done with Billboard– “grinding at a slow pace leads to success well worth the wait.” Aside from working with J.Cole, appearing in the Eyez documentary, & building Dreamville Records, Hamad also helped to set-up the Dreamville Foundation. Clearly, Hamad is a worldly man of many talents & experiences, & has a fountain of wisdom to share at William Peace. For more information on Hamad & his work with Dreamville, I have posted the link to the 3rd installment of Dreamville’s “Born Sinner” series, which features Ibrahim Hamad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxss0ybWS8M&feature=youtu.be

Next, Sascha Stone Guttfreund, is another key player in the music industry. His work with J.Cole, Kendrick Lamar, & Tory Lanez has been noted through his promoting company, ScoreMore– which describes itself as “your favorite rappers’ favorite promoters.” The company, which Stone-Guttfreund started in college, is now a massive promotion business, which makes Stone-Guttfreund a massive music industry mogul– & he isn’t even 30 years old yet. Stone-Guttfreund went at the game with a very DIY approach. Billboard reported on Stone-Guttfreund in an interview in which he described the development of ScoreMore. He attributes his experience in door-to-door sales, development of a street team, & word of mouth to the initial growth of his business. The man that was once promoting concerts with less than 100 audience members, years later & out of college, is now helping to coordinate Dreamville, which is sure to garner thousands of attendees. 

While there is no Born Sinner video on Stone-Guttfreund, you can find out more about him at the “For the Students” session this upcoming Thursday. Audience members must RSVP at forthestudents.co AND at hiphopedwpu.com. Although this event is open to the public, non-WPU students are required to pay a nominal fee & must fill out a separate registration form.

J.Cole & his team at Dreamville are attempting to literally put the tools to success in the hands of his fans. Don’t miss out on this incredible event, for the students.