Tuesday, February 25, 1997
MUSIC:
Rap artists OutKast headline show sponsored
by African Student UnionBy Nelson Saldua
Daily Bruin Contributor
For one night, over a thousand college students, an 18-year-old
rookie guard from the Los Angeles Lakers and a crew from the UCLA
Film School all had at least one thing in common: they all were
drawn to Ackerman Grand Ballroom for the same reason.
Friday night, the African Student Union (ASU) sponsored its
fourth annual Hip-Hop Explosion. The show, which has steadily grown
in scale since the first year it was held in the Cooperage, has
previously featured rap artists Lords of the Underground and
Coolio. For this year’s installment rappers Big Boi and Dre, a duo
collectively known as OutKast, left their hometown of Atlanta to
give the West Coast a taste of Southern-flavored hip-hop.
"They (OutKast) are one of the most popular groups out right
now," explained Chad Williams, Vice Chair of ASU, "and their style
and originality symbolizes everything that hip-hop stands for."
Williams expected the event to sell-out, considering that
approximately 700 pre-sale tickets were sold at UCLA’s Central
Ticket Office, in addition to tickets sold at the door.
When the doors to Ackerman Grand Ballroom opened at 9:00 p.m.,
an assortment of people began to file in. Although Hip-Hop
Explosion is an ASU-sponsored event, it seemed as if every
nationality was represented within the crowd – there were the
hip-hop heads who had come to see one of OutKast’s few L.A.
appearances and then there were the party-seeking people who had
probably never even heard of OutKast. Los Angeles Laker rookie Kobe
Bryant came after the game against the Vancouver Grizzlies to watch
the show. The diverse field of people is a testament to rap music’s
ability to unite people who are usually otherwise separated.
The patient crowd had to wait, entertained by DJs, until 11:30
p.m. Finally, the lights were turned off, and it was time for the
evening’s featured performers. Outkast was joined on stage by the
female singer of the hour, Erykah Badu, who came not to perform,
but to support OutKast. The two ATLiens (remember, they’re from
Atlanta) provided the crowd with an energetic 45-minute
performance.
The two rappers have a unique style of rhyme delivery that
alternates between a staccato, rapid-fire cadence and a laid-back
Southern drawl. Big Boi and Dre add to their individually complex
rhyme patterns by sometimes reciting their lyrics in unison and at
other times trading off the lyrics. All of these elements combine
to form a verbal soundscape that few other rap groups can match.
The rhyme skills of the two rappers were not the only thing that
hyped up the crowd, as the beats made it impossible for anyone to
stand still.
OutKast performed songs from both of their albums,
"Southerplay-alisticadillacmusic" and "ATLiens," whose title song
got the most crowd participation. Big Boi and Dre exhorted the
crowd with the chorus, "Just throw your hands in the air/ and wave
’em like you just don’t care./ And if you like fish and grits and
all that pimp shit, everybody let me hear you say ‘oh yeah’." The
crowd of hip-hop fans readily obliged by singing along with the
chorus and waving their arms from side to side. Dre dedicated the
song "Wheelz of Steel" to all of the DJ’s in attendance.
The most moving moment of the show was their live version of
"Jazzy Belle", with the melodic singing of the chorus and the
break-beat causing an involuntary head-nod of everyone in
attendance. OutKast ended the show with "Elevators (Me & You),"
their first single from their recent album.
The show was well worth waiting for. Still, fans congregated at
9:00 p.m. near the stage in anticipation and let out a collective
groan of disappointment when it was announced that OutKast would
not perform until 11:00. "You’ve got about two hours until OutKast
(performs)," explained one of the emcees for the evening, "so quit
staring at the stage and get your freak on!" Since the event was
held at an on-campus ballroom, at first it seemed like a high
school dance. Dancing in Ackerman Grand Ballroom definitely gives
you that homecoming-dance-in-the-gym feeling.
Providing the musical back-drop for people to get their "freak
on" was D.J. Melo-D of 92.3 The Beat. With a background of mixing,
cutting, scratching and beat-juggling provided by D.J. Melo-D, most
people ignored the homecoming-dance vibe and proceeded to dance.
With D.J. Melo-D on the turntables, a crowd on the dance floor and
a bunch of film students scurrying around with flashlights and
video cameras, the party gained momentum. Even the ringing from an
accidentally-pulled fire alarm did not put a damper on the
festivities.
The only disappointment was that Erykah Badu was not a part of
OutKast’s 45 minute set, but as Big Boi and Dre left the stage
while the entire crowd serenaded them with the chorus lines of
"Elevators" it was undeniable that OutKast had just rocked the
house on their own.
SHAWN LAKSMI/Daily Bruin
Hip-hop rappers Big Boi (left) and Dre of Outkast at the Hip-Hop
Explosion.