Rae Sremmurd concludes 4/20 with students during FlashFest

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Slim Jimmy and Swae Lee of Rae Sremmurd preform at the M.A.C. Center as a part of FlashFest on Thursday, April 20, 2017.

Payton Moore

With every cloudy puff of marijuana smoke emanating from the crowd Thursday, another Kent State student ran, skipped and danced into the Rae Sremmurd and Sammy Adams show at the M.A.C. Center.

The latest Undergraduate Student Government-sponsored concert featured the two acts on the unofficial stoner holiday, 4/20. Sremmurd performed two years ago on campus, but this time the rapping duo got more than double the pay.

According to USG’s Twitter, drastic cuts in funding meant those talent-scouting for the 2017 FlashFest needed to get thrifty while still appealing to student’s music taste.

 

Sremmurd, was the best choice given their knockout performances, recent album “SremmLife 2” and nonstop energy according to incoming USG president Daniel Oswald

Junior fashion merchandising major, De’Von Gomez, assisted in preparations for the show. Gomez is USG’s future marketing lead and said the show takes a lot of collaboration between all members to put on a successful night.

“It takes a lot of dedication and hard work,” Gomez said.

Gomez mentioned that despite Rae Sremmurd’s second appearance, the two put on a good show in their first appearance, so a second show is always a good idea.

Even with prior social media drama, the excited crowd jumped and screamed when Adams took the stage amidst heavy bass drops and bright, flashing lights. Adams covered hit Migos song “Bad and Boujee” and performed some of his own tracks including “All Night Longer.”

The Mississippi rappers Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi began with “Start the Party,” dancing and jumping on stage as the crowd cheered on the duo. Most students were anticipating the headliners, like freshman business management major Lamont Jamison.

“I like them a lot, (“SremmLife 2”) just gets me hype,” Jamison said. “I just listen to it when I need to be in a good mood.”

For freshman pre-nursing majors, Brandon Moore and sophomore Victoria Lamb, “Blase,” “No Type” and “Black Beatles” were the reason they waited over an hour outside the M.A.C. Center to be the first ones through the door. Besides the low turnout on the Student Green for the free outdoor concert, students kept their excitement high for the headliners.

Sremmurd kept the crowd on their toes during the show; Snapchatting on students’ phones and jumping on top of speakers. The duo’s second time performing at Kent State left students, sweaty and satisfied despite initial concerns of the repeat performance.

Payton Moore is a features correspondent, contact her at [email protected]