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In an exclusive interview with HipHopDX, Dreamville rapper Bas admits he was star-struck the first time he met JAY-Z at a J. Cole studio session.

Dreamville Rapper Bas Admits He Was Star-Struck When JAY-Z Pulled Up To J. Cole Studio Session Published on:Aug 31, 2021, 3:05 PM by 6 Exclusive Dreamville artist Baswas first introduced to J. Colein 2007 when his brother Ibrahim IB Hamad was attending St. Johns University in Queens with the future rap luminary. Bas wasnt even rapping at the time, but Cole ultimately inspired him to pick up the microphone and he hasnt looked back. Embed from Getty Images With three studio albums under his belt and contributions to Revenge Of The Dreams, Revenge Of The Dreamers II and Revenge Of The Dreamers III, hes becoming as seasoned as his Dreamville boss and theres nothing off about it. Meanwhile, his brother IB now manages Cole and oversees the label. When I met Cole in 07, he rapped and I definitely wasnt rapping back then, Bas tells HipHopDX in a recent interview. Hed been at college at St. Johns University in Queens, which was pretty much in my backyard. My brother was going to school with Cole, and they became good friends. Then when I hit the buzz,and I started working on my music, Cole was just always providing some guidance, somebody I could lean on and get an ear on things. Then I remember one day he was like, Man, I cant wait to see where youre going to be three years from now as you keep developing. Ill tell you, thats something that we have at Dreamville thats unique artist development. Its still a thing. Literally, like three years after he told me that, he was starting the label with Interscope, and he told me he wanted to sign me. So it kind of all happened. It was really like a family business. Although its been seven years since 2018s Milky Way, Bas is still busy putting out projects. On July 9, he recruited J. Cole and Lil Tjay for The Jackieand its accompanying visual. Produced by T-Minus, the song screamed summer anthem. The video also brought a comedic energy to the track, with J. Cole driving a convertible Chrysler LeBaron as an Uber driver and Bas rapping the hook, You see the drop top bitch/Stop playin with me. Needless to say, Bas isnt letting his foot off the gas. On October 23, he and his Dreamville family J.I.D, EarthGang, Ari Lennox, Cozz, Lute and Omen will descend on Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Coloradofor a rare, star-studded show. The event marks one of the first major concerts Bas has done since the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off in March 2020. Im super excited to get back on the road, he says. I miss it a lot. You got to find the pros and cons to it. Obviously, shows were taken from us and just human interaction in general. The adventure of life was also kind of taken away. Things got real settled, but theres pros to that, too. Ive been on the road for the better part of the last decade, so its cool to have some time to work on stuff, build a home situation and see my family a lot more often, things of that nature. Then creatively, there was pros and cons to it, too. I think its just what you make of it. Read more