@JordanLipshutz Last night was a spectacle to be seen. Yes, Ludacris played a frat party. After a day of horrible tests and constant running around, I could NOT think of a better way to start my first “World’s Greatest College Weekend.”
My boys and I showed up at the ATΩ/ACACIA parking lot really early about 45 minutes after the gates opened at 6. The crowd was already starting to gather and I got my first festival conditioning of the year by staking out our spot 50 feet from the stage. When I got a chance to look around I noticed “EJ,” Eric Gordon himself, just hangin’ out shootin’ J’s.
Next, my brother, DJ Zeke took the stage with a rapper that I think called himself Fresh Soul so we’re just gonna go with that. He kinda had the whole Pharrel/Lupe look going on and he was way better than the first guys. He also had live drums on stage, which added a great extra punch.
Fresh Soul played about 3 songs and then we waited and danced a good while until Nappyville came on. Straight out of Indy, these guys were pretty good too. They were way more southern sounding and played about 5 songs. OK now on to the real deal.
We waited maybe an hour after Nappyville and around 9:00 Luda’s boys took the stage. “Southern Fried Intro” started playing and Rap’s MVP finally hopped up on stage. Working the crowd right off the bat, Ludacris got everyone’s hands in the air as he blasted into “Number One Spot.” I think I should mention at this point that the buzz around campus was that he would play three songs. Within two songs, Luda proved he was here for the crowd all night. Hit after hit, the show continued until the 10:30 noise curfew.
Some songs he played a few verses of, others he played straight through. Pretty much you name it he played it. Highlights for me included “Pimpin’ All Over The World,” a remix of Jim Jones’ “Pop Champagne,” and of course “Move Bitch.” The best by far though was when Luda invited everyone to put their lighters in the air and light up and then dropped into “Blueberry Yum Yum.”
I should also mention Shawnna came out with him toward the end of the set to do a great version of “What’s Your Fantasy.” After, Shawnna got a few songs to herself and was absolutely killing it. I really don’t know if they were written rhymes or she was free styling, but her flow was unbelievable and she was spitting incredibly fast. Around this point we left to start the after-party, but I’m just gonna take a wild guess and say he closed with “Rollout.”
I don’t make it out to many rap shows, but Ludacris is one of those humble rappers that totally cares about his audience and putting on a great show. I doubt you’ll get the chance to see him play a frat party again, but anywhere you can catch him, go for it.
Photo credits: Top photo by Sarah Achler, bottom photo and thumbnail to Meredith Alexander.
@ZackTeibloom
@ZackTeibloom
