Nappy Roots
On October 31, I attended the Nappy Roots concert at Millet Hall. The whole gymnasium was packed with people who came with the intention of having a great time listening to quality Rap music. From the Halloween costumes to the power of the crowd, the whole event was unforgettable. Who is Nappy Roots? Six students from Western Kentucky University decided to follow their dreams and form a rap group in 1996. Skinny DeVille, R Prophet, Big V, Scales, Ron Clutch, and B Stille are the stage names of Nappy Roots. Their real names are William Hughes, Ryan Anthony, Vito Tisdale, Melvin Adams, Ronald Wilson, and Brian Scott. Their southern-based roots, from Georgia and Kentucky, give them their unique style. The diversity of the people in the concert was of a wide variety. The young crowd dressed informally or even dressed up for Halloween, making it a very interesting site. I was surprised to find many people dancing to the music. This was a big difference from the conservative formal concerts I have attended for this class. The opening act was disappointing. First, they were thirty minutes late. Second, I couldn’t even hear what their name was due to the horrible accent the lead singer had. Third, they lacked up-beat . . .
The power of Nappy Roots was amazing. People were discouraged but then Nappy Roots started singing their hit single “Awwnaww”, not even caring that the police said they couldn’t. When the crowd was settling down, one would sneak off stage and run from the top row, shaking hands and giving hugs, getting the crowd back into the performance. The crowd flocked towards the stage and past the gates like a mob. They would usually play two up-beat songs and then one slower. The other song was too fast to hear what the words were, and people were in a state of confusion. They also used other rap songs mixed in and out to keep the crowds focus on the music and not having them wander off or get bored. I was amazed at the use of pauses at certain times to break the beat up and have the crowd go wild. They would build up to the next song by getting the crowd hyped up, or giving some foreshadowing of what the next song might be. Everyone went wild, people jumping, girls screaming at the top of their lungs, guys soaked in sweat, everyone’s hands in the air; it was a moment I will never forget. All of these devices were used to better entertain the audience. Of course I was running down there, and just something about how they cared so much about the audience made me enjoy them even more. Two of the songs weren’t even songs people could dance to. They were able to come up with phrases of music that weren’t their regular lyrics and these new lyrics would relate to the crowd some how.
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Acceptance Essays
