Los Angeles-based rap artist Ty Dolla $ign will headline Bruin Bash 2016, along with openers Norwegian DJ Matoma and an unannounced artist.
On Wednesday, UCLA’s Cultural Affairs Commission and the Campus Events Commission updated the Bruin Bash website to announce Ty Dolla $ign as the headliner. Bruin Bash will be held in Pauley Pavilion on Sept. 19.
[Related: Matoma announced as Bruin Bash 2016 opening act]
Tyrone William Griffin, known by his stage name of Ty Dolla $ign, raps, sings, writes and produces hip-hop music, working with international celebrities such as Wiz Khalifa and The Weeknd. After releasing popular singles like “Or Nah” and “Paranoid,” Ty Dolla $ign debuted his first album “Free TC” in November 2015.
Amy Shao, the Cultural Affairs Commissioner, said the combination of Matoma and Ty Dolla $ign captures a wide range of musical tastes among students.
“We wanted to make sure we hit two main genres of music on campus that students can relate to,” Shao said.
She added that CAC and CEC chose to reveal the names of the opening act and headliner before the pre-opener to give students the maximum amount of time to consider signing up for tickets before the new online lottery closes Sept. 9. Campus Events Commissioner Jordan Dang said the last opener will likely be announced by Friday when the student ticket lottery results are announced.
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“We know a lot of students aren’t going to commit to a concert where they don’t know who the main acts are,” Shao said. “We wanted to release the headliner and the opener so students would know that if they were interested in those two artists, they would be motivated to sign up.”
Dang said Ty Dolla $ign also contributes diversity in terms of representation and race.
“He is very representative of a community that doesn’t get a lot of representation on campus,” Dang said. “What we’re aiming for, for this lineup, was to have a diverse set of people not only in genre but also in terms of representation and different backgrounds.”