Kweli raps up year as concert headliner

By Nicole Southern

He’s been seen on TV. He’s been heard on the radio. Now Talib Kweli will be seen in Rider’s very own Student Recreation Center, as the headliner for the 2006 SEC Spring Concert.

Featured in Kanye West’s “Get ‘Em High,” the Black Eyed Pea’s “Like That,” and Dave Chappelle’s movie Block Party, Kweli’s career has begun to take off in recent years. His appeal to young adults has created a demand for his presence on college campuses, but getting him here was not easy.

The process of choosing an artist for the spring concert is a long one, but one that Student Entertainment Council co-chairs junior Evan Pierri, senior Camille Alston and sophomore Kim Fleming are more than willing to do in order to give the students what they want.

“We sit down and figure out who the best artists for Rider are for that semester,” said Pierri. “This is based on the artists’ availability, our budget and the genres of music we are looking for.”

According to Alston, they then deal with a mid-agent who works with the three co-chairs and gives them an idea of who is on tour and which of their choices would be the best fit for Rider. The mid-agent then gets in touch with the potential headliners to work out the details.

“The mid-agent works directly with the talent and his people to deal with contracts and dates,” she said.

According to Pierri, the team wanted to make sure the students were satisfied, so they narrowed it down to a few artists and released a survey to the Rider
community.

“This year we really wanted to let the students have a voice in who they wanted to see,” he said. “We tried to survey as many students as possible and the outcome was overwhelming for Kweli.”

SEC has also been working very hard to ensure that the concert goes smoothly, said Pierri.
“We have been working closely with Rider Public Safety and administration,” he said. “We want to make sure that the students are able to enjoy live music in a safe and friendly environment.”

According to Fleming, SEC was looking for a change, and since Rider hasn’t had a hip-hop concert in a few semesters, it seemed like just the thing to add a little variety.
“Rider’s last three concerts have been mainly rock,” she said. “We wanted to switch it up and give Rider a new beat.”

The team finally decided on Kweli because he fit the genre and because of all the great things they have heard about him as a performer, said Pierri.

“We chose Kweli because he is one of the most talented up-and-coming hip hop artists of his generation,” he said. “We also referenced other schools and found out that he puts on an amazing stage show.”

The concert is scheduled for about an hour, but its duration will depend on the reaction of the crowd, said Alston.

“He’s known to play shows much longer than usual if he has a good vibe going,” she said. “It will definitely be a great show, no matter how long it is.”

The concert will take place on Thursday, April 27, at 10 p.m. Doors will open at 9 p.m. The concert is free for all Rider students. Guest tickets can be purchased for $5 each, but are limited to one per Rider ID. There will be plenty of tickets available for students and only a limited number for guests.

“He just has a great energy and vibe,” she said. “He plays a lot off the energy of the crowd. I think students will be able to feed right into him.”