Rae Sremmurd to play at spring concert

After months of listening to students and tallying votes, the results are final: the Carolina Union Activities Board will announce today that hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd will headline the April 11 spring concert with opener, Charlotte-based hip-hop artist Well$.

Rae Sremmurd is known for hits “No Flex Zone,” “No Type” and “Throw Sum Mo,” featuring Nicki Minaj.

With a budget ranging from $40,000 to $50,000 in student fees for talent, stage and lighting costs, CUAB said it focused on student feedback for the spring concert, starting with a suggestion whiteboard in the Pit. Ten choices, including Waka Flocka Flame, Sean Kingston and Hoodie Allen, were approved and added to a Google Doc, on which students could vote, toward the beginning of the semester.

“We heard a lot of feedback from students about what kind of show they wanted and we did surveys, and this was the most voted on name when we put out the survey,” said CUAB President Gabe Chess.

Chess said Rae Sremmurd received over 33 percent of approximately 10,000 votes counted. CUAB could not account for repeated votes.

Chantrel Reynolds, marketing and design chair for CUAB, said Sremmurd appeals largely to the undergraduate population.

“Most people recognize the name, most people recognize the song,” she said. “It’s something that everyone can get into, and that was our goal: to appeal to as many people as possible.”

Reynolds hopes the concert revives a tradition: Carolina Jubilee, a spring celebration dating back to the 1960s.

“We wanted to bring it back with a facelift and reinvent what the Union does and what the Carolina Union Activities Board does,” she said. “That’s what we’re really emphasizing becoming a tradition in the coming years — bringing back the Carolina Jubilee feel.”

The concert will take place outside on Hooker Fields. Approximately 3,000 tickets will be offered at $5 per ticket.

“Our goal with this is to provide it for as many as possible for as low a cost as possible,” Chess said. “I hope, by keeping tickets that cheap, we can get a lot of students out and be able to access this and come and enjoy.”

The decision to bring Well$, who was announced as a nominee in the 2015 XXL Freshman 15 competition on March 9, was based on his rising popularity in Chapel Hill, where he spends half of his time.

“I think it’s really cool that students will get to see a super awesome up and coming local artist on the show,” Chess said.

For Well$, who has performed at Cat’s Cradle and Kappa Sigma fraternity and has sold out Local 506, the opportunity to perform alongside a prominent band with a similar sound is exciting.

“They have a great vibe, I dig it,” he said. “I’m just excited to share the stage with them.”

Junior Christina Luke said while she’s heard of Rae Sremmurd’s songs, she’s never heard of the band.

“I know the song,” said Luke of ‘No Flex Zone.’ “I didn’t know who sang it though.”

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