Rapper Ludacris will headline this year's Spring Fling concert on April 25, Concert Board confirmed yesterday.
The Atlanta-based rapper is well-known for his clever lyrics and catchy beats. He has generated many hit singles, including "Roll Out (My Business)" and "Stand Up," over his six studio albums.
Rumors of Ludacris' selection began circulating on Tuesday when students discovered Tufts listed as an upcoming tour date on Ludacris' MySpace.com page. Junior Alan Munkacsy, a Concert Board co-chair, called the informal announcement "unexpected."
"We were originally going to release it through the Daily once the contract was signed, which was [yesterday], so they preempted us," he said. Munkacsy added that no other acts have been confirmed.
The choice of Ludacris reflects Concert Board's unofficial policy of switching between a rock and hip-hop headliner each year. "We try to please everyone on campus, so switching it up every other year does that well," Munkacsy said.
Ludacris was an especially popular choice among Concert Board members, according to junior Rob Seiden, the group's other co-chair. As a result, he said, the group made its first formal bid to the artist in mid-January.
"Ludacris is someone who Concert Board members have been looking into for an extremely long time," he said. "He's usually out of reach, but we got started on this early."
Munkacsy said that although the group did not formally ask for suggestions from the student body, the members "looked at what people like on [Facebook.com] by just searching and looking at what people listed under their profiles and seeing what groups there were."
Concert Board was able to afford a big-name act when the Senate approved a request the group made for buffer funding, according to Munkacsy.
"[Ludacris] was the biggest artist we could get with the money this year," he said.
Last year, Concert Board had to raise its initial offer to book the headliner, the Dropkick Murphys, after the group asked for more money. Concert Board eventually landed the band after requesting and receiving additional funding then, too.
This time around, "everything went smoothly" from the start, Munkacsy said. "They accepted our original offer."
Several students expressed excitement about Ludacris' upcoming performance. "He has a mentality behind his music," freshman Alex Farmer said. "He's trying to take [hip hop] in his own direction."
Sophomore Izzy Gainsburg is also looking forward to seeing Ludacris perform.
"He strikes me as the kind of person who can get a crowd into his music," he said. "It seems like he likes to party."
Not everyone was thrilled to hear the news, though.
"I just feel that none of his songs are that great," said junior Kailah Hayden-Karp, who said she was disappointed with the decision. "They are just mediocre hip-hop jams. I'm not super excited to see him."
Despite her lack of enthusiasm for the headliner, Hayden-Karp still intends to stay for the performance. "I think Spring Fling is a lot more about the atmosphere and the people," she said. "I think it will be fun. I think his music is poppy and [danceable] enough that it will be good for Spring Fling."
In addition to another hip-hop act and a rock band, Munkacsy confirmed that two Tufts groups will perform at Spring Fling.
Marking a change from recent years, the winner of Concert Board's Apr. 4 Battle of the Bands in Hotung Café will be joined by student band The Gentlemen's Bet, which played in last weekend's ROCKUS Battle of the Bands at Tommy Doyle's Irish Pub and Restaurant. Hip-hop group FunkSoulLove won the event, which involved four Tufts bands and was sponsored by Rolling Stone Collection, Veritas Records and WMFO.
Drew Frankel, WMFO's general manager, said that FunkSoulLove was asked to play, but wasn't able to commit "because two of them are on the track team."
Instead, WMFO -- which was charged with selecting one of the Tufts bands -- "gave it to the runner-up, which was The Gentlemen's Bet," Frankel said.
The Gentlemen's Bet will open the show, according to Munkacsy, while the winner of April's battle will play on the side stage, performing during each set change on the main stage.
Concert Board submitted an offer to the second hip-hop act yesterday but has not yet decided on a rock band, according to Munkacsy.
He said Concert Board will announce the acts after contracts are signed, which could take up to six weeks from the time of the initial offer.
