Hosted by Student Life at Montclair (SLAM), the spring concert is one of the biggest events of the year. With last year’s failed attempt at a successful spring concert when musical guest T-Pain cancelled at the last minute, SLAM needed a hit.
SLAM built up the anticipation to the concert with a five-day countdown on their Instagram page, eventually revealing that A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was going to be performing at Montclair State University on April 17.
A Boogie screams to his fans as they scream back at the stage during the main performance. Sierra Craig | The Montclarion
On the day of the concert, students lined up outside Memorial Auditorium hours in advance. Sophomore student Catalina Gonzales was one of those eager concert-goers.
“I’ve been here since 1:30 p.m.,” Gonzales said. “Luckily my class was cancelled, so I was free.”
Gonzales wasn’t the only student determined to get a good seat for the show. Angelica Rosario, a sophomore film student, also waited outside early for A Boogie.
“We’re just extra, so we planned [to come early] like a week in advance,” Rosario said.
While the crowd was waiting outside in excitement, the road to getting a ticket wasn’t easy.
“I had to leave class just to focus on the ticket,” said sophomore Nahja Joseph. “When I first signed on I got wait-listed, but after a few tries it finally went through. I got my ticket around 10:30 a.m.”
Many students were not even able to get a ticket. Eventbrite immediately started waitlisting hopeful buyers as early as 10:03 a.m. SLAM’s Entertainment Chair Rayane Yamout said they sold out in two minutes, so it seems like only a few late stragglers were successful.
A Boogie thanks his fans and says goodbye as he finishes his last song, “No Promises.” Sierra Craig | The Montclarion
“I woke up late by accident,” sophomore composition and theory major Jahmai Person said. “By the time I got on the site, it said the tickets were sold out.”
SLAM’s Instagram comments quickly filled up with angry students complaining about how they could not secure a ticket and that they should change the location to Lot 60 so it could house more concert-goers.
“Any outdoor venue (i.e. Lot 60) has strict regulations,” SLAM wrote in a post on their Instagram page. “A Boogie would literally not be allowed to curse in his songs, and no one wants to listen to the clean version of ‘Startender.'”
Although they attempted to do damage control, SLAM eventually turned off the comments on that post.
Students in line were friendly with one another. Fan interaction included holding spots for bathroom breaks, sharing food and taking turns charging cell phones.
“I want a lit show,” Gonzales said. “I want it to be rowdy.”
Fans go wild in the audience as the concert takes place in Memorial Auditorium. Sierra Craig | The Montclarion
Once it was 6 p.m., students were allowed in the venue and “Hoodie SZN” really began. Since it was general admission, there was no assigned seating. It was a free-for-all.
DJ Bake hit the stage first, playing banger after banger to get the crowd’s energy up to prepare for the main event. A Boogie also had three other rappers open for him, including Booka Banks, Ovee and Trap Manny.
By the time DJ O. Minaya – A Boogie’s official DJ – came out to set up, the crowd was beyond hyped and ready for the “Swervin” singer to take the stage.
The rapper performed songs mostly from his newest album “Hoodie SZN” but threw in some older songs for his “day one fans.” He even hinted to new music dropping soon, but he jokingly said that fans needed to get his debut album “Artist” to platinum first before he releases anything new.
A Boogie performs “Ransom” from his 2015 mixtape. Sierra Craig | The Montclarion
Fans were battling the rapper by trying to scream his lyrics even louder than him. There was not a single quiet person in the room. Everyone was jumping around and recording videos on their phones.
Sophomore Emily Reese enjoyed the show but had a favorite song that A Boogie performed.
“My favorite song he did was ‘Drowning,‘” Reese said.
Paulina Subczak, a sophomore nutrition major, also shared her favorite song in his performance.
“I liked his throwbacks, like ‘Jungle,’ a lot, too,” Subczak said.
From left to right: Montclair State students Emily Reese, Paulina Subczak and Mayra Ventura pose for pictures after the show. Sierra Craig | The Montclarion
Once the concert was over, fans poured out of the auditorium with smiles on their faces while still singing along to their favorite songs. Groups of people had campus police officers taking their pictures with the marquee in the background. Trap Manny even came out and spent some time with those still outside.
“Honestly the whole concert was bomb. I thought he was going to take off his shirt, but I guess not,” said student Mayra Ventura. “I just love A Boogie. I wish the concert was longer.”
