Crunk and the College might not seem to go together. But April 19 at 8 p.m., the two will merge and hundreds of students cannot wait. UCAB’s music committee is hosting the Ying Yang Twins as one of their biggest concerts of the year.
While the rappers were originally booked for Saturday, March 29, students and UCAB members were disappointed to find that two members of their management team had unknowingly signed a contract for the same date with two different venues. Seeing how popular the concert was becoming via Facebook and word of mouth, “we absolutely could not just say to hell with it and get our money back. Hence, we began trying to move that show to another date,” the UCAB blog said.
To deal with the scheduling issue, the music committee added Gym Class Heroes earlier in the semester and solidly booked the Ying Yang Twins for April 19.
This year, UCAB has offered radically different musical choices for students, ranging from Guster to Gym Class Heroes. Even Homebrew has been expanded, hoping to appeal to all sectors of campus. “It’s really cool that they’re coming " it’s really different than most bands that we get. I’m really excited to see someone so different,” Kishan Patel (’10) said. “With Gym Class Heroes and all their opening bands, UCAB’s really putting on a good variety.”
However, no act has stirred up excitement quite like the arrival of Kaine and D-Roc, better known as the Ying Yang Twins. Born Eric Jackson and Deongelo Holmes, the two hail from Atlanta, Georgia, and first made their appearance in 2000 with “Whistle While You Twurk.” The song hit #16 on the R&B charts along with their first album, “Thug Walkin.’”
The two have collaborated with many famous artists, including Britney Spears, on “(I’ve got that) Boom Boom,” and Wyclef Jean, on “Dangerous.” By pairing up with Lil Jon on “Get Low,” however, the two received the most popular recognition. Before long, their unique sound and catchy lyrics were playing multiple times an hour on the radio as well as dominating club and party scenes.
The show will open with “Thao with The Get Down Stay Down” and the College’s own hip-hop dance group, Syndicate. “Thao with the Get Down Stay Down,” is an alternative folk rock music group based in San Francisco, CA. They have been working with producers and musicians from The Decemberists and Sufjan Stevens, and are touring with Xiu Xiu.
Syndicate is thrilled to be performing before the Ying Yang Twins. Member Lamar Shambley (’10) is excited to see the group in a new opportunity.“It finally puts us on a wider platform to show our talent. We’re a group of hard-working students who just love to dance in our free time.”
Shambley, Thao, and the Twins won’t be disappointed. The excitement for the concert is mounting. Over 1,000 people have committed to attending the concert on Facebook alone and the anticipation is only growing. The weekend promises to be full of huge events, with Friday night featuring the annual King & Queen Ball. Morgan Gelinas (’09) for one, is excited for the two events: “Ying Yang Twins, Matoaka Amphitheater,and dancing all night? I'm not sure any two other things could go together any better.”
Tickets are available now at the PBK box office (www.wm.edu/boxoffice). Tickets are $8 for students before the day of the show and $10 the day of the show. For the general public, tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the show.