Dreamville President Ib Confirms J. Cole's Mixtapes Will Drop On DSPs If Kanye Clears Samples

BYAron A.Published on April 03, 20237.4K Views

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 30: J. Cole performs during day 3 of Lollapalooza at Grant Park on July 30, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Josh Brasted/FilmMagic)

Ibrahim Hamad reveals the real hold up behind re-releasing "Friday Night Lights" and "The Warm Up" on streaming services.

Dreamville came through with another legendary festival over the weekend. Usher, Summer Walker, and more graced the stage while Drake and J Cole closed out Sunday night on a high note. Though Drake’s slew of guests, including Lil Wayne and Lil Uzi Vert, caught everyone’s attention, Cole’s surprising shout-out to Kanye West remains one of the most highly-discussed moments. Though Ye and J Cole have had their fair share of issues over the years, the Fayetteville native hoped to get Ye clear a few samples for him.

J. Cole’s iconic mixtape, Friday Night Lights, included many remixes of Kanye’s records. “Villematic,” which Cole performed on Sunday, samples Ye and Rick Ross’s “Devil In A New Dress.” It’s one of the many samples from Kanye’s catalog that Cole used in his mixtape but it seems that the Chicago artist is stalling the release of FNL on streamers. “Shout out to Kanye West,” Cole said after performing the song. “Please clear the sample for me, my brother. I appreciate it.”

Dreamville’s Ib Reveals J Cole “FNL” Hold Up

As artists like Lil Wayne and many others have taken their iconic mixtapes to streaming services, Friday Night Lights hasn’t followed suit, largely due to Kanye. Ibrahim Hamad, co-founder and president of Dreamville, reacted to Cole’s shout out on Twitter. He explained that the “GOMD” rapper used 10 Kanye beats on Friday Night Lights. Without Ye’s approval, it will be impossible to bring the project over to platforms like Spotify and Apple Music for commercial use.

“when y’all keep asking me everyday for FNL and The Warm Up and The Come Up on streaming just remember cole rapped on like 10 Kanye beats. I swear Once Kanye clears it I got y’all,” Ib said on Twitter. Though Cole hasn’t announced plans to release a project anytime soon, we’re hoping that his mixtapes will head to DSPs soon enough to hold us down in the meanwhile. Hopefully, Cole’s public plea will catch Ye’s attention in the near future. Check out Ib’s tweet above and let us know which one of Cole’s mixtapes you want to see on streaming services first.

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.