Spring is here at Montclair State University, which means the Student Life At Montclair (SLAM) Spring Concert is preparing to welcome this year’s performers, A Boogie wit da Hoodie featuring Trap Manny. However, due to the high volume of interest, many students will be missing out on the opportunity.
The concert venue rented out for the SLAM Spring Concert was Memorial Auditorium, which is located next to the Center for Environmental and Life Sciences (CELS) here on campus.
Many students are questioning the decision of the location since it is a fairly small theater capable of only holding 988 seats, according to Montclair State’s website. However, it is the largest performance facility on campus.
Alderiyike Adeyemo, a junior studying chemistry, is one of the students who criticized the venue choice.
“Memorial Auditorium is really small. It’s not for a concert, for A Boogie. They should’ve done it somewhere bigger,” Adeyemo said. “He’s always on the radio, so of course, people are going to come out.”
A Boogie wit da Hoodie performed at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair on Oct. 9, 2018. Cristian Inga | The Montclarion
According to Billboard.com, A Boogie’s most noticeable song “Look Back At It,” peaked the #32 spot on the Hot 100 Billboard list back on Feb. 16. The song stayed on the chart for 17 weeks.
SLAM spoke on their behalf, via Instagram, and addressed the concerns of the decisions of their location.
“Why an indoor venue? It’s April, and because we can not guarantee good weather, we opted for an indoor venue,” SLAM said in the post.
SLAM also stated that certain locations have strict regulations, which might have impacted A Boogie’s performance.
“Any outdoor venue (i.e. Lot 60) has strict regulations due to the residential area campus is surrounded by. A Boogie would literally not be able to curse in his songs, and no one wants to hear a clean version of ‘Startender,'” SLAM said.
Students such as Aisosa Omoruyi, an undeclared sophomore, was intrigued by the affordable prices in which the tickets were sold.
“It’s a very good price for A Boogie, that’s why everyone tried,” Omoruyi said. “A regular A Boogie ticket is over $100 because he has hits.”
Omoruyi was one of the many unfortunate students who tried to purchase a ticket on the release date.
A Boogie wit da Hoodie tickets completely sold out on the ticket website. Screenshot by Carly Henriquez
“I was there at 10:02 a.m., and it was gone,” Omoruyi said. “They put me on the waiting list. I’m thinking they sold not over 200 tickets.”
However, a selected few individuals were able to get their hands on A Boogie tickets.
Kiani Bonner, a senior studying communication and media arts, will be able to attend the spring concert this year.
“I purchased the tickets at 10 a.m., the day it came out. I went to his Powerhouse concert in Newark,” Bonner said. “That concert was lit, but he only did one song, though.”
SLAM received major criticism and questions from students regarding the number of actual tickets they sold.
“SLAM puts a lot of work and consideration into putting on every event, especially the 2019 Spring Concert, including budget, artist availability and choosing someone students would want to see,” SLAM said. “We work hard to ensure that every event we put on is safe and enjoyable for our fellow students.”
