Students packed the house to see a night of musical performances at the “Hip-Hop Showcase” on Wednesday, Nov. 30 in the Brower Student Center.
The event, sponsored by the College Union Board, brought together performers from all over campus as well as major hip-hop artists like K. Flay, XV and Grieves.
K. Flay was first up and played several songs during her set, including “Less Than Zero” from her mixtape “I Stopped Caring in ’96,” which will be released in April. The artist had a very distinct style as a hip-hop performer where her songs were infused with electronic beats accompanied by her original raps.
XV and Grieves also performed several of their songs at the showcase.
During his performance, XV explained that he has been able to collaborate with many artists such as Wiz Khalifa and Mike Posner.
“It’s really dope that music can bring so many people from all walks of life together” XV said.
Grieves closed the showcase with songs like “Get Down,” and “Bloody Poetry” from the LP album “Together/Apart.” With numerous instruments that could be heard in the background of his performance (like a trumpet and steady percussion) Grieves’ songs evoked traces of both soul and punk, producing music that was a unique twist on conventional hip-hop.
In between sets, student rappers were given a microphone for one minute and were expected to create a freestyle rap during a one-on-one battle. The individual who successfully made it though three rap battles by the end of the night won a $100 cash prize.
The audience was asked to cheer on their favorite rapper and whichever contender gained the crowd’s approval was able move on to the next round while the other rapper was eliminated.
While many of the freestylers attempted to prove themselves victorious, a student rapper by the name of Icy Hot was crowned the winner in the third round of the contest.
Before the hip-hop music began, the College’s Black Out step team put together a performance. The group performed their routine through a series of energetic step combinations that livened up the crowd. At one point, the team even switched pace by performing an original rap to the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” theme song.
Overall, the showcase successfully displayed a wide variety of music pertinent to current trends in hip-hop. The refreshing performances were definitely a sight to see and hear.
