Hip-hop artists come together to perform at sold-out Block Party concert
IF YOU GO:
What: Block Party
When: Friday, 6 p.m. (doors open), 7 p.m. (start)
Where: Carrier Dome
How much: Sold out
Block Party 2010, featuring headliner Drake, N.E.R.D, K-Os, and Francis and The Lights, will take place Friday in the Carrier Dome.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are sold out, according to a University Union press release.
UU sold 4,500 tickets in the weeklong student pre-sale in March and 9,584 overall — breaking the previous record of 8,137 set by Kanye West in 2006. More recent Block Parties, which featured Ben Folds with Guster in 2009, Fergie with Sean Kingston in 2008, and Ciara with Lupe Fiasco and T.V. On The Radio in 2007, saw between 3,500 and 4,000 tickets sold, according to the press release.
Deniece Holley, a co-director of UU Concerts and senior television, radio and film major, said the lineup is to thank for the record-breaking ticket sales.
‘Drake is a huge name right now,’ she said. ‘When it comes to promoting shows here, it’s quite difficult because of the seriously diverse musical interest across the university. We can’t please everybody, but we can try.’
Drake’s show in Syracuse will also be the largest out of all his university and college stops on ‘The Away From Home Tour,’ according to the press release. The tour began April 6 and will run through May 8, stopping at venues in East Rutherford, N.J., for the Bamboozle Festival and Ithaca, N.Y., for Slope Day, an annual event that takes place at Cornell University.
Holley also said this will be a rare show because UU was allowed to have four performers instead of the standard three. Students seem to be excited about openers N.E.R.D (‘No-one Ever Really Dies’), K-Os (‘Chaos’), and Francis and The Lights as well, she said.
‘I think having N.E.R.D in addition only amped up the lineup, exponentially,’ she said. ‘And Pharrell (Williams) is obviously one of the most well-known hip-hop icons of our time.’
Paige Kunikoff, a freshman child and family studies major, is excited for the artists UU brought.
‘It’s going to be so much fun,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t change anything about the lineup.’
Ali Mitchell, a freshman communication and rhetorical studies major, said she is going but would like to see a certain artist alongside Drake.
‘I think Lil Wayne should be there because he’s been in a lot of Drake’s songs,’ she said.
Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, first became popular for his character Jimmy Brooks on the television show ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation.’ He signed with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment in June 2009 and released his debut EP, ‘So Far Gone,’ in September of that year. The EP won Rap Recording of the Year at the 2010 Juno Awards and has sold 401,000 copies as of March 2010, according to Nielsen Soundscan. His debut LP, ‘Thank Me Later,’ is slated for a June 2010 release.
Holley urged ticket holders to get there early, even before doors open, to grab a good seat.
Published on April 28, 2010 at 12:00 pm
