Ari Lennox‘s fans have wondered why the chanteuse hasn’t been included in the Dreamville Festival lineup, and they’ve taken to social media to vent about it.
The festival posted their official flier for the event on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday (March 7), and Lennox’s conspicuous absence from the lineup was noted by more than one user.
“To not even have Ari on there…,” wrote one user, while another wrote, “This lineup is sooo disappointing, I’m so sad! Making us wait so long and they hyped it up so hard.. where’s Ari? Coco jones, Meg, Brent Faiyaz, Jazmine Sullivan, ice spice, Kendrick, Ciara, Kelly Rowland, H.E.R???? Yall could’ve spiced it up a little more.”
And still another wrote, “Imma say it, this lineup is horrible. Smh.” Check out some more reactions below.
Where is Ari? And can she bring Coco Jones?
— agent j (@_VenusGoddess) March 7, 2024
Where’s Ari Lennox!?
— Jefe 🇭🇹 (@TheReal_Wes) March 7, 2024
Where’s Ari Lennox??
— Sygod (@synik_freshe) March 7, 2024
We want Ari 🥲🥲🥲
— Dawit 🔜Dreamcon (@Dawituchiha) March 7, 2024
No Ari? Gold Mouf??
— ZAY🏁 (@_ZAY_KING) March 7, 2024
No Ari 😭😭😭😭😭
— Overrloadd (@Overrloadd) March 8, 2024
So far, Ari Lennox hasn’t commented on why she won’t be performing at the Dreamville Festival — but her exclusion from the lineup shouldn’t be surprising, considering her tense history with Dreamville.
Back in January 2022, she revealed she wanted out of her contract with J. Cole’s Dreamville and Interscope Records.
Taking to Twitter on January 23 of that year, the singer made clear her desire to be “free” after signing a deal with Cole’s label in 2015 and releasing her 2019 debut album Shea Butter Baby.
“I want to be dropped from the labels,” she wrote. “I’m done and tired.”
She also replied to a fan, “Shut up! The interview was the icing on the cake. I want to be free.”
The interview in question is Ari Lennox’s appearance on Podcast and Chill when the host asked, “Is someone fucking you good right now?” while referring to her song “Pop.” The singer showed discomfort with the question and later claimed she was quitting interviews altogether.
“And I’m never doing another interview again,” she wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “I been on this sober high for weeks. Genuine gratefulness and happiness. But then… men. Every time… never fails.”
Just days before the incident, Dreamville congratulated Ari Lennox on being nominated for Outstanding Female Artist of the Year at the NAACP Image Awards. Following comments about her label situation, she went on to talk about people being annoyed by her tweets.
“For Christ sakes,” she said. “I realize I have no hits. I realize you all can live without hearing my music. I realize my complaining is so aggravating to y’all. I don’t ask blogs to post me when I’m at my worst. You judgemental self hating parasites wouldn’t last a day as a signed artist.”
