Afrobeats

Burna Boy, Sean Paul Brings Afrobeats & Dancehall To J. Cole’s Dreamville Fest 2023

Burna Boy and Sean Paul are among the headliners on J. Cole's 2023 Dreamville Festival with Drake, Lil Durk, Glorilla, and more

Sean Paul
Sean Paul / Instagram

Burna Boy and Sean Paul are set to bring some afrobeats and dancehall flavor to this year’s Dreamville Festival.

J. Cole’s Dreamville 2023 is returning with a solid lineup of artists that’s sure to draw fans into the annual Raleigh festival. On Tuesday, the festival revealed its list of headliners, which includes some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Afrobeats Giant, Burna Boy, Jamaican reggae/dancehall superstar Sean Paul, Drake, and the man himself, J. Cole, as well as Usher, City Girls, and others.

The two-day event will take place April 1-2, with Usher headlining on Saturday, April 1, while artists like Sean Paul, Lil Durk, Ari Lennox, City Girls, Jessie Reyez, Key Glock, and others are set to perform.

Burna Boy
Burna Boy

Sunday, April 2, features three headliners- Drake and J. Cole and Burna Boy with a slew of artists also filling the lineup, including R&B singer Summer Walker, GloRilla, Wacka Flocka Flame, Mario, J.I.D, Baby Tate, and many others.

A poster of the event shows it will be held at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. There are reports that Drake and J. Cole will match each other hit for hit in a simultaneous performance. Both artists are regarded as legendary in the game, and it would be interesting to see them take the stage together.

Many fans on social media reacted to Drake and J. Cole performing together, including fellow artist Taleb Kweli who wrote in Cole’s comments section, “Brilliant.”

“They act like two legends cannot coexist” bar has never made more sense,” another fan wrote.

“You and drake? That’s tough,” another added.

In the meantime, the 2023 planning for Dreamville appears to be more advanced than the last two years shows which were impacted by the pandemic, causing delays and rescheduling.

Last year’s event featured Lil Baby, JID, Rico Nasty, and Kehlani, as well as J. Cole and several of his label mates.

Dreamville Fest attracts annual spring crowds of about 40,000 people. It was started by the “No Role Modelz” artist first as a series of tour performances that quickly grew into a large festival now an annual occurrence in Raleigh.