[1][2] Producers on this album include, J. Cole, Cedric Brown, K-Quick, Soundwave, Meez, Elite, Ron Gilmore Jr., DJ Grumble, and J Dilla.

On December 12, 2015, posters promoting a surprise Dreamville concert were seen in subway stations and local stores in New York, NY.

The idea of the series, Cole said, was "to get back to the sense of underground and raw musical talent, and celebrating artists with a true, uncensored craft.

The tape introduces the label's two newest signees: the Washington, D.C.-bred singer Ari Lennox and lute, a rapper from Charlotte who joins Cole in representing North Carolina.

Each artist contributes one song here, both of which are among the best on the tape; lute's Dilla-cribbing "Still Slummin" in particular is superb, throwing you immediately into his world and dispensing plaintive, delightfully un-cinematic notes.