JID stands out on Dreamville's "Revenge Of The Dreamers III"
July is off to an amazing start with the highly anticipated release of the third installment of compilation projects from J. Cole’s Dreamville label “Revenge of the Dreamers III” Made up of J. Cole, Bas, Ari Lennox, Omen, Cozz, Lute, EARTHGANG and JID, Dreamville has become one of the more prolific groups in Hip-Hop. Often compared to the Kendrick Lamar spearheaded label “Top Dawg Entertainment” aka TDE, Dreamville boasts a versatile roster of artists and producers from around the country focusing on socially conscious concepts on smooth Hip-Hop and R&B beats.
For the 3rd installment, Cole decided to invite seemingly all of Hip-Hop (343 invites were sent) to share in a ten-day hip-hop summit, where north of 140 songs was reportedly made. In an attempt to be more open to other Hip-Hop artists, J. Cole created what seemed like the coolest jam session to ever exist, and the results did not disappoint. Standing at an hour and five minutes across 18 songs, Dreamville has a certified classic on their hands with “Revenge Of The Dreamers III.”
Here are my standouts from both Dreamville as well as the invited guests:
Best Dreamville Artist: JID
Songs:
“Down Bad”
“Wells Fargo”
“Ladies, Ladies, Ladies”
“Costa Rica”
“1993”
“Rembrandt...Run It Back”
If Revenge of the Dreamers 3 isn’t your introduction to any of the Dreamville artists, you may find yourself in a tough spot trying to balance your bias when trying to decide who performed the best out of the dreamers. Even more so, the documentary shows that being in a position to make and finish songs wasn’t always the easiest. So, there is something to be said about JID having the 2nd most songs on the project with 6 (J Cole had 8). Similar to his projects JID showed his versatility, bringing both lighthearted and witty storytelling lyrics on “Ladies Ladies Ladies” as well as pure raw energy and undeniable rapping ability on “Wells Fargo.”
Honorable mention: Ari Lennox
Songs:
“Self Love”
“Got Me”
Although she only had two tracks on the project, Ari Lennox was a standout in supreme fashion, making some of the smoothest tracks on the project. Ari then took to twitter on July 7th to tease fans at a concept of a new project, tweeting "I need to mess around and drop another album." Ari Lennox lack of songs on this album should make you very excited for what may come out next.
Best Non-Dreamville Artist: Buddy & Guapdad 4000
Songs:
“Don’t Hit Me Right Now”
"Wells Fargo”
“Costa Rica”
“1993” (Only Buddy)
Referred to as a ‘Shark Tank’, for 10 days Tree Sound Studios was on a “first come first serve, you better be ready” type of time. With artists and producers having to move from room to room just to find space to sit. Although the event was meant for everyone (even Chris Bosh was there), many artists came in knowing that the project was meant to highlight Dreamville artists. Being able to stand out on a project meant for others can be hard for some, but clearly not for Buddy. With 4 songs on the project, Buddy is a prominent voice throughout the project, and according to the documentary was a vital energy source during the 10-day span. His personality, attitude, and style show up on this project in abundance, if you didn’t know him at first, you certainly know him now.
Another artist you may not have known until now is Guapdad 4000, gaining buzz for lewd music videos and losing bets to Drake, Guapdad 4000 has put himself in a beautiful position to jump into the Hip-Hop scene with great performances on “ROTD3,” it’s safe to say we’ll be hearing more from Guapdad 4000, and I think we’re all here for it.
Honorable Mention: Smino
Songs:
“1993”
“Sacrifices”
One of the more unique and fresh Hip-Hop artists out right now, Smino takes 2 swings and smashes them both using crazy flows and honest lines, Smino fans were given two treats on this project, leaving listeners unfamiliar to Smino with some homework to do.
Go out and listen to Dreamville’s “Revenge Of The Dreamers III” wherever you listen to your music. Also, don’t forget to check out OLDMLK’s Instagram page (@OLDMLK) and Twitter (@OLDMLKDOTCOM) for updates on OLDMLK.COM: The Most Essential Hip Hop Blog, The OLDMLK.Com Playlist, The OLDMLK Radar and more! Remember when it comes to music if you don’t know it, Oldmlk does!
ALL PICTURES TAKEN OFF EACH INDIVIDUAL ARTIST'S INSTAGRAM PAGE
