Courtesy of Parth Mody
Rapper Rico Nasty and Atlanta-based hip-hop duo EarthGang attracted a crowd of 1,362 to McDonough Field for their Homecoming Ball performances on Friday night, according to Student Programming Council (SPC) President Eleni Kokolakis (20C).
Headlining rapper Rico Nasty took the stage at 10:50 p.m., when the intermittent rain had lightened up, and opened with her 2018 hits, “Bitch I’m Nasty” and “Smack a Bitchh.”
Hundreds of concertgoers responded wildly to the second half of Rico Nasty’s performance, where they jumped, danced and sang along to the music.
Later, Rico Nasty invited EarthGang back on stage to perform a song together, saying, “We had never gotten do this before, never, anywhere.”
The Homecoming crowd began to gather around the stage when EarthGang first appeared at about 9:20 p.m. The duo, formed in 2008 and composed of rappers Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot, began their set with “LaLa Challenge,” the opening track of 2019 studio album “Mirrorland.” EarthGang followed up with several other “Mirrorland” tracks, including “Proud of U,” “Tequila” and “Bank,” charging the crowd with excitement despite the intermittent rain.
The crowd responded with particular enthusiasm to the duo’s cover of 2016 track “FDT,” by rappers YG and the late Nipsey Hussle, and “Mirrorland” track “UP,” shouting “Fuck Donald Trump” in unison.
EarthGang fan Chloe Qin (22C) praised the duo’s performance of the song “UP,” even with the inclement weather.
“They’re even better than I thought they would be,” Qin said.
EarthGang invited four students on stage to dance with them during their performance of “Sacrifices,” a track by Dreamville in which the duo was featured alongside fellow rappers J. Cole, Smino and Saba.
EarthGang ended their performance at around 10:15 p.m., when the rain worsened. The crowd dispersed for food and water under tents that had been set up along the field.
The interval between EarthGang’s and Rico Nasty’s sets was about 40 minutes. Kokolakis said the wait-time was expected as there was a necessary change-over period between artists to accommodate set, sound and light changes.
In addition to the performances, SPC added new stations for Flash Tats (temporary tattoos) and an AirBrush Xpress for Swoop State canvas bag customization. Students were able to visit these stations during the Homecoming Ball.
“Our activities at the concert usually vary year by year,” Kokolakis said. “Outside of [the new] activities, the rest of the Homecoming Ball has mostly remained the same.”
Emory Emergency Medical Services (EEMS) did not receive any requests for assistance at the concert, according to EEMS Director Rachel Barnhard.
Concertgoer Daisy Kim (22C) said that although the weather decreased the event’s appeal, the experience proved overall worth her time.
“[I went to the concert] because I wanted to go to every Homecoming event,” Kim said. “School spirit is important to me, and I wanted to support SPC and their efforts. I thought the food and tattoos were a great idea.”
Emma Klein (23C) said the concert was fun but inconvenient in that it coincided with the beginning of Parents Weekend.
”I went for an hour, and then I went to hang out with my family,” Klein said. “I feel like there could’ve been way more people there [if the event had been scheduled for another time].”
The 2019 Homecoming Ball concert was free for all Emory undergraduates, and guest tickets cost $10. SPC started the guest ticket system two years ago in order to ensure that they could accommodate the maximum possible capacity of Emory students. This year, Kokolakis said that SPC sold 119 guest tickets,100 of which had been set aside for graduate students.
Phyllis Guo (she/her) (22C) is from Taiyuan, China, majoring in quantitative sciences with a psychology concentration. Guo began writing for the Wheel as a news reporter. Outside of the Wheel, she serves as treasurer of Pawsitive Outreach and vice president of Emory Tzu Ching. In her free time, she enjoys reading, volunteering at the Guide Dog Foundation, drinking boba tea and exploring Atlanta.
