Sold Out Show in the Campus Center

This past Saturday night, March 31st, I had the privilege to attend the sold out hip-hop show in the Campus Center Odeum. The show featured, Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, AKrobatiKs, Ground FX Crew, and our very own WPI Step Team. First off, the BSU, SocComm, and whoever else was involved in putting this incredible performance together deserves a big round of applause. The music was incredible, the artists were extremely talented, and the place was packed. A sold out show at WPI? I honestly did not think it was possible; so to everyone that had a part in Saturday's success I give a huge amount of credit, a big thanks, and you all did a great job.

This show was all about hip-hop and unity. I arrived a little after 8 p.m., which was when the performance began, and the WPI Step Team is opening up. They opened the show up with style. These people could dance, they had good beats behind them, and they were getting everyone pumped. It was a very fine representation for WPI to start the night off with. I personally had trouble getting to the front of the crowd to see the Step Team, but I could hear their feet bumpin' and they were slammin'! Next on stage was Ground FX Crew, about 10-12 very talented and flexible guys, break dancing for all to see. They tore up the stage, spinning on their heads, back, shoulders, necks, and everything else. They were a lot of fun to watch and did an amazing job. Following FX Crew was the outrageously talented AKrobatiK.

AKrobatiK is a rapper out of New York City. After speaking to him after the show I found this was actually only his third time performing with Kweli and Hi-Tek. He travels all over the country usually for about two weeks out of every month, and when he can he meets up with these guys and puts on great shows. The DJ behind AKrobatiK was a guy out of Boston who could rip the turntables up. AKrobatiK's rhymes were smooth, and he could flow better than most of the top 20 rappers of today. What was very cool about what AKrobatiK had to say was that he was spreading the idea of "Knowledge Yourself", in other words keep yourself informed, and never stop learning. Following AKrobatiK was the featured artists, Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek.

These two performers have a lot of potential to make it big. Talib Kweli is the lyricist of the group, and Hi-Tek is the man on the turntables. Along with them were two amazing backup singers, and these women had pipes. Talib Kweli has been in the hip-hop business for a while, he also performs with Mos Def, and Black Star, which are two big names in the hip-hop world. Talib Kweli is originally from Brooklyn and Hi-Tek is from Cincinnati, Ohio. The two met about four years ago, found a common sound and have been together since. It was a honestly a step forward for WPI to have such famous artists perform and display their talents.

Even though there a only a small number hip-hop fans on WPI campus, everyone should feel a lot of school pride after Saturday night. WPI held a show where students from around New England drove in. I spoke to group of students from Wheaton College, another guy was from Rochester, N.Y., and had driven seven hours just for this show, and every Worcester college was represented. I even spoke to a group of kids from some Worcester high schools. There was a sense of positivity and unity about the whole show. Publicity for this performance definitely deserves credit. As a senior, I feel this is one of the best displays of college students getting together, working hard, and successfully organizing a great show. Thanks again to all that helped and I hope more successful and popular shows are to come.