This year's Spring Fest performers thrive off energy. Rick Ross hypes up his audience with his drug-addled lyrics, while Fabolous' turns heads with his instant quotables. Tyga and New Boyz have only a few hits to their arsenal, but those hits are enough to incite riots.
Aaron Westbrooks - a sophomore communication major who goes by the stage name A-West - is the antithesis of these artists. While this year's performers boast a larger than life fa?\0xA4ade, A-West is more self-contained.
A-West and New Boyz were announced this week as this year's Spring Fest's opening acts. The Rochester native said the opportunity was a blessing, but also noted that performing at such a big stage was all part of the plan.
"I'm surprised, but at the same time I'm not," Westbrooks said.
The announcement marks the second consecutive time a UB student has performed at an SA sanctioned concert. Senior communication major Trevor Eckman, a fellow Rochester native who performs under the name Bagginz, opened for the SA Small Concert featuring hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang.
SA Entertainment Director Monique Mattes noted that signing on student acts for these concerts is a trend the organization would like to continue.
"We would love to have more UB student be openers for our shows," Mattes said. "The only issue is that SA sometimes only has two large concerts a year (due to funds, locations, artist availability, etc.) and we are not always guaranteed smaller shows for the students to perform. We get many emails a week with local artists looking to perform at UB and if we can find a spot for them, whether it would be at a fest or at another student run event, we help them as much as we can."
Like Bagginz, A-West was contacted by the SA after he reached out to the organization. He had a short time to prepare for the show after he was confirmed last week.
A-West isn't worried about the short preparation time, however. He said that he had even less time to prepare in other venues - a list that includes Club Infinity and Buffalo State College. He believes that he has a solid plan going into Sunday.
"The whole plan is to go up there, treat it like it's nothing new, have fun, and leave an impression," Westbrooks said.
Having fun with music is something Westbrooks has been doing since he started rapping in elementary school. The sophomore said he started by writing jingles before moving on to do parody style raps during his high school years.
His peers thought his satirical verses were so good that he was inspired to take rap seriously.
Westbrooks' multi-racial background also contributes to his love of music.
"I've been on both sides of my family, and I've been surrounded by Eminem to The Cool Kids to Lil Wayne to Wiz Khalifa to Drake," Westbrooks said. "I'm real sensitive to the way sounds work and just stretch my own path."
A-West recently released his mixtape, Cool Story Bro, last month. The Rochester rapper didn't speak much about the critical response to this mixtape, but he noted that the release - as well as his career in music - is for his own enjoyment.
Westbrooks said he was honored to perform on the same stage as the famed Rick Ross and Fabolous, as well as the other artists. According to A-West, opening for the acts will only add to his ever expanding resume.
"This right here has already opened a lot of people's eyes. After this, I'll have a lot more in my arsenal...I feel that once people see what went down, things are going to fall into place."
Doors will open for Spring Fest at Alumni Arena at 5:30 p.m. The show is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.
Email: arts@ubspectrum.com
