ARTIST: Dreamville (Collaboration)
ALBUM: Revenge of the Dreamers II
RELEASE DATE: December 8, 2015
“Revenge of the Dreamers II” is the first collaborative studio album from the Dreamville label. The label consists of Omen, Bas, Cozz, Lute, Ari Lennox, and of course J. Cole. “Revenge of the Dreamers II” is a follow up to the 2014 surprise mixtape “Revenge of the Dreamers” that was a success amongst J. Cole’s fans. After inking a partnership with his Dreamville imprint and Interscope Records, Cole and his team dropped the 11 track project that featured Treasure Davis and KQuick and also contained the original version of J. Cole’s hit record ‘Crooked Smile’. ROTD2 is a 9 track project that features Donnie Trumpet and Correy C but this time around fans will have to cough up a few bucks if they want to get their hands on it.
Before the release of ROTD2 the entire Dreamville team tweeted 1-888-88-DREAM which for those who may be unfamiliar originated from the first installment of the series which gave fans a heads up that part two was coming. This time around the number actually allowed fans to call up and talk to the Dreamville crew, but it was not an easy task as most were met with hilarious voicemail recordings. The hype around the project was well worth it when the opening track entitled ‘Folgers Crystals’ opened the album up strongly as J. Cole attacked the track saying, “Now I could be the change that I wanna see; I can heal the world for real if a n*gga speaking honestly.” This track coupled by the amazing instrumental talks about how Cole is often overlooked by those who doubt him but still managed to rise up much like Folgers Crystals before Folger’s Coffee showed the world their full potential. The next track entitled ‘Night Job’ by Bas featuring J. Cole gives off a calmer vibe as Bas and Cole do some much deserved bragging. If anything this track gives us a taste of what we have to expect from Bas’ upcoming album “Too High to Riot.”
In the next track we are formally introduced to Ari Lennox, who was first heard on Omen’s “Elephant Eyes” album. Ari and Cozz beautifully remix her 2014 song ‘Backseat’ to perfection. With a voice this beautiful it was only right to sign Ari to a label destined for greatness. Omen makes his first appearance in the next track entitled ‘Caged Bird’, my favorite of the nine tracks, as he and Cole tell us some of the things that black men face in America. This powerful song will surely serve as an anthem for black youth. The next track is entitled ’48 Laws’ by Omen featuring Donnie Trumpet which is a beautifully written and produced song that Omen uses to vent about his past trials and tribulations and how he changed his odds.
The album switches from a calm and laid back vibe to tracks with an upbeat bass. Two tracks that epitomize this are Bas’ ‘Housewives’ and Cozz’s ‘Tabs’. Finally, the world is introduced to Lute on the track ‘Still Slummin’ as he gifts us with a couple of bars over the J Dilla beat ‘In Space’. As the track title suggests, Lute tells you about his journey through the music industry which started from the slums and how he continues to “chase life.” Dreamville closes “Revenge of the Dreamers II” out with a track from none other than Cody Mac with his track ‘Grow’ which also appeared on his recently released mixtape “Nothin’ Personal”. Cozz opens up with the line, “I went from a hobby rapper to a nobody can stop me rapper” which lets fans know right away that they were in for a real treat. This album is definitely worth both your money and your time and will prove to be an introduction to some of the best artists in the game right now. “Revenge of the Dreamers II” receives 9 out of 10 stars.