Lauren Peterson said she’s waited four years to see a hip-hop artist come to Bradley. But come spring she won’t have to wait any longer.
Lupe Fiasco will perform at the Civic Center Tuesday April 20.
“He has two records out and they’re both really successful,” said Special Events Reserve Fund Co-Coordinator for ACBU Natalee Runyan. “He’s from the Chicago area so he has a huge following out there, and he’s collaborated with a lot of the biggest names.”
Lupe Fiasco is best known for the hits “Superstar,” “Kick, Push” and “Daydreamin’.”
Although show time, ticket information and the opening act are still unknown, Runyan said ACBU wanted to announce the concert upon receiving Lupe Fiasco’s confirmation.
“ACBU hasn’t really done a hip-hop artist since November 2006 when Common was here,” she said. “So we felt we were pretty overdue. We’ve kind of had a lot of rock.”
Runyan said student feedback has been positive so far.
Senior accounting major Andrew Wieser said even though he doesn’t know a lot of the performer’s songs, he will definitely be going to the concert.
“I have some friends who went to Lollapalooza and said he was really good live,” he said. “It will be something fun, something different.”
Peterson has also said she’s seen him perform before.
“Everybody seemed to love him when he opened for Kanye,” she said. “He was really good, and I think that gave him a lot of exposure.”
Lupe Fiasco has also received critical acclaim, winning one Grammy and receiving nomination for seven others. He’s also been nominated for BET Hip-Hop awards, Teen Choice Awards and an MTV VMA.
ACBU considered four artists, but Lupe Fiasco was its top choice, Runyan said.
“He happened to be available and it just worked out really well,” she said. “It wasn’t that hard of a process this time around.”
He cost about $60,000, which Runyan said is standard.
“We still had a lot of rollover, because for the last two years we’ve only had one performance,” she said. “Even with Maroon 5 and Joel McHale we still had a lot of money left.”
But landing a popular performer for the spot isn’t the only reason Runyan said she’s excited about this concert.
“My co-coordinator and I would really love to be able to do the next show at the performance center, so hopefully in the fall we’ll be able to bring in a great performer to the new fieldhouse,” she said in reference to the Athletic Performance Center, which is slated to finish construction this spring.
The new arena will seat 4,200 people, and Runyan said hosting concerts there will help save ACBU a lot of money.
Lupe Fiasco is set to add on to 2006’s ‘Lupe Fiasco’s Food and Liquor’ and 2007’s ‘Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool’ when he releases ‘Lasers’ this year. An official date has not been announced for that release.
ACBU will announce ticket information, time and the opening act as soon as they are decided.
