SXSW 2015: J. Cole’s Dreamville Show Is What Dreams Are Made Of

On the final evening of Austin’s week-long South By Southwest Festival (March 21), J. Cole is creating a special aura at the Austin City Limits’ Moody Theater without being on-stage.

His #SXSWTakeover presented by New Era is the latest Dreamville invasion. With his most recent business endeavor, the rapper born Jermaine Cole has handpicked rising MCs (he’s currently on the search for the “next” Aaliyah) for his Dreamville roster under Interscope Records. After the ‘ville’s newest signees Omen and Cozz warmed up the Moody crowd, the label’s breakout star Bas snapped under the spotlight, unleashing tracks from his 2014 debut Last Summer. Note: the Queens spitter’s performance of “My Nigga Just Made Bail” and the crew’s version of Drake’s “We Made It” are both flames.

Without delay, Cole reported to the stage in living room-comfy joggers and a white tee, unlikely attire for the heat he was about to deliver. After running through nostalgic cuts off his 2009 project The Warm Up, 2011 debut Cole World: The Sideline Story (J. Cole’s “Nobody’s Perfect” with Missy Elliott will always be a gem) and 2013 sophomore LP Born Sinner, he gave the crowd a preview of his upcoming 2014 Forest Hills Drive tour with Big Sean.

“I’m performing the whole fuckin’ album, from beginning to end,” Cole assured his fans before launching into a set of his most hypest of tracks off the 2014 album, including “Tale of 2 Citiez,” “No Role Models,” “GOMD” and “Fire Squad.” He even remixed a line from the latter’s original version following the results of the 2015 Grammys: “Watch Iggy lose the Grammy while a n-gga crack a smile,” he spit.

Closing his set with the FM trifecta of “Can’t Get Enough,” “Crooked Smile” and “Power Trip,” Cole capped off the night, making many dreams come true.

Double tap some Instagram clips from the show below:

Best showcase of #SXSW not named illmore goes to Dreamville. Hands down

A video posted by Kaz (@reallifekaz) on Mar 21, 2015 at 10:39pm PDT

J. Cole ??

A video posted by taj rani (@tajrani) on Mar 21, 2015 at 10:17pm PDT

and i ain’t never did south by before, no…

A video posted by adelle (@adelleplaton) on Mar 22, 2015 at 5:34am PDT

GET OFF MY

A video posted by adelle (@adelleplaton) on Mar 22, 2015 at 5:39am PDT

Photo Credit: Karlo X. Ramos