By Kenny B. of LiteShot Media

The day begins with a slight overcast with the sun trying to peek through the clouds at the first ever Dreamville Festival.

Arriving to the park you feel a sense of excitement with 40,000 people from all over the world coming into Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. Not too long after arriving the sun comes out in full force to dry out the downpour from the day before. As the festival begins, the vibrant colored decorations are located all over the park with both stages on opposite ends to provide proper spacing. Surrounding the park are food and local business vendors accompanied by Medical and EMS support on site to suffice for any needs. Dreamville Merch being a huge attraction to incoming VIP and General Admission fans running into lines to grab merch before the event begins with first acts. Despite the park being under very muddy conditions, that did not stop the show for anyone navigating the park at any cost.

Noticeably the energy in the park is filled with attention being drawn to two specific murals of the late Mac Miller and Nipsey Hussle. Fans alike were showing their support in the recent passing of Nipsey Hussle with shirts showing respect to the late rapper. His energy filled the park with each artist given their own tribute to Nipsey Hussle in their own way.

Entertainer Teyana Taylor was amongst one of the biggest acts of the festival with her high energy and surging vocals and moves. Teyana pauses during her set to now speak and pay tribute to Nipsey Hussle and Lauren London as they are close friends. She dedicates “Gonna Love Me” to the family as Nipsey And Lauren’s pictures are shown in a slideshow behind on the screen. While the performance is going on, she has someone recording with her phone on video to send it to Lauren London at a later time.

Another big stand out was from rapper Big Sean. Big Sean paused during his set to speak on how the passing of Nipsey Hussle impacted him as they were both from the XXL Freshman Class of 2010. Big Sean held a moment of silence across the park to commemorate the late rapper followed by a dedication to Nipsey by performing “One Man Can Change the World.” The night drew near as everyone is eagerly awaiting the performance from the show’s originator and headliner, fellow North Carolina hometown hero, J.Cole.

Cole arrives on stage in shock even that the park was packed out at 40,000 attendees which is unheard for the city of Raleigh. To everyone’s surprise, Cole brings on stage rapper, Meek Mill which opened to the high-energy “Intro” from Dreams & Nightmares album. Before Cole closes out the event, Cole pauses in his set to speak on the passing of Nipsey Hussle. Cole then tells everyone to light up their phones as the beat drops for “Love Yourz” with a slideshow of video and pictures playing in the background in memory of Nipsey Hussle to finish out the show.

Photos By: Kenny B. of LiteShot Media