Jewish group hosts rappers at Legion Field
Students still upset about the end of summer break and the recent onset of classes can release their frustration at Thursday night’s Back to School Concert.
The event is headlined by Big Boi of Outkast and Gorilla Zoe, member of rap group Boyz N Da Hood.
“College campuses have a different energy,” Gorilla Zoe said in a phone interview Monday. “[There's] a lot more crowd participation. It’s more of a party.”
In his first trip to Athens, Gorilla Zoe said he’s most excited about sharing the stage with Grammy Award-winning rap icon Big Boi.
“It’s a privilege. I grew up listening to him,” Gorilla Zoe said.
The concert is organized by the Chabad Student Group, an organization that promotes Jewish education, the Jewish community and philanthropy, according to group president Carly Arogeti, a junior from Atlanta.
Arogeti said a percentage of proceeds from the show will go toward building a new Chabad house, as the organization has outgrown its location on Southview Drive.
BACK TO SCHOOL CONCERT
When: 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday
Where: Legion Field
Price: $20 students/$25 general admission
More information:Sign-ups at 7:15 and are first come, first served. Get tickets at www.blueoceanlive.com.
“It’s about more than constructing a new building,” Arogeti said. “It’s about bringing students together, having a good time and doing something that benefits the greater good.”
Chabad is collaborating with Blue Ocean Live and The Make-A-Wish Foundation. Blue Ocean Live is a media group founded in 2006 by two Indiana University fraternity brothers which specializes in promoting rap concerts on college campuses.
“We started about three years ago when we began putting on rap concerts in the backyard of our fraternity house,” said co-founder Jonathan Wolf. “Then it spread to backyards of other people’s fraternity houses.”
This is the second concert Blue Ocean Live has organized on campus this year. DJ Unk performed at Legion Field in March. The group has also promoted shows at the University of Texas, the University of Arizona and UCLA.
“We expect to have a lot of big names from Atlanta coming up for the event, including athletes Josh Smith [of the Atlanta Hawks] and Jamaal Anderson [a former Atlanta Falcons player] and music producer Dallas Austin,” Daniel Kuniansky, a Blue Ocean Live co-founder, said.
Wolf said he expects between 3,000 and 4,000 people to attend, and tickets are selling quickly.
Security for the performance will be provided by the University Police Department.
Also performing are Los Angeles rock group Altered Echoes and Atlanta hip-hop artist Bree.
