Southern rappers will dominate this year’s Fall Fest.
The Student Association announced Monday that Travis Scott, Lil Yachty, Rae Sremmurd and D.R.A.M. will perform on Sept. 10. The previous four Fall Fests have featured hip-hop artists, with Big Sean headlining last year’s concert. Fall Fest is funded through the undergraduate mandatory student activity fee of $104.75 a semester. In the past, students have gotten in with a student I.D. and the general public paid a separate fee. SA announced there will be a new ticket policy for Fall Fest.
Even though this is another hip-hop Fall Fest, the cohesion between all four acts is something that is particularly unique to this year’s concert.
Headliner Travis Scott recently finished up his North American tour opening for one of the biggest singers in the world, Rihanna. He helped produced her last album Anti, which has been certified platinum.
He’s frequently collaborated with Kanye West, Drake and The Weeknd, which are arguably some of the most popular musicians in the rap and hip-hop scene right now. His album Rodeo, released last August, was well received by hip-hop experts.
Scott’s upcoming album titled “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight” aligns with his scheduled Fall Fest performance and UB students might be some of the first to hear his new album live.
He has also collaborated with Big Sean and they are both affiliated with Kanye West’s label G.O.O.D Music. His energy on stage shines through and UB is in for a high-octane performance from the 24 year old from Houston, Texas.
The second of four southern hip-hop acts is a duo that hails from Tupelo, Mississippi called Rae Sremmurd, featuring Swae Lee and Slim Jimmy. The duo has achieved massive success largely due to beats by Mike Will Made-It, one of the best producers in hip-hop right now.
Rae Sremmurd are signed to Mike Will’s record label Ear Drummers – yes, Rae Sremmurd is Ear Drummers backwards – and thanks to Mike Will’s industry connections, they have been able to rub elbow’s with some of music’s elite.
Swae Lee wrote the insanely popular song “Formation” on Beyonce’s latest album Lemonade.
They released the follow-up to the incredibly successful first album Sremmlife, titled Sremmlife 2 this August and it has been met with generally positive reactions.
Lil Yachty is the third Fall Fest performer and he’s a 19 year old hailing from one of hip-hop’s most influential cities, Atlanta. He has seen his popularity skyrocket after a viral video was based off of his “One Night” lyrics.
His auto-tune heavy vocals and his humorous raps have seemed to connect with college-age students like him. He’s proclaimed himself as a leader of the new youth movement and tends to focus on the vibes and beat of the song rather than the lyrics.
He’s collaborated with popular artists like PartyNextDoor as well as fellow Atlanta innovators Migos.
Earlier this summer he released a mixtape titled Summer Songs 2, which helped increase his popularity with people who aren’t fans of his music. But his most popular song right now is one he worked on with the fourth performer at this year’s fall fest, D.R.A.M.
D.R.A.M or Big Baby D.R.A.M, an acronym for Doing Real Ass Music, is an artist from Hampton, Virginia who’s currently at the pinnacle of his career.
Since his song “Cha Cha” was featured in one of Beyoncè’s Instagram videos, he has seen his star rise within the last 12-15 months.
“Cha Cha” has also influenced Drake, who sampled the song for his majorly successful “Hotline Bling.” He’s a frequent collaborator of one of the most promising rappers out right now, Chance the Rapper, and has been featured on Surf and Coloring Book.
His unique raspy vocals and feel-good lyrics are infectious and even though most people are not familiar with the name, they will recognize the sound he embodies because it has influenced some of the biggest artists out. He’s more of a vocalist than a rapper, but this guy still has lyrical ability.
Jamal C. Allard is the arts editor and can be reached at arts@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
