The Student Association is redeeming Fall Fest from "Fray Fest."
This Saturday's show at Baird Point will feature New York-based rapper French Montana as the opener, with popular rapper Childish Gambino and Roc Nation signee J. Cole as co-headliners.
The response to the lineup has been more positive than Fall Fest 2011, which headlined The Fray alongside lesser-known acts 2AM Club and White Panda.
The Spectrumasked 315 students how they felt about this year's Fall Fest lineup. Out of those polled, 56 percent are excited, 25 percent don't like the lineup, 9 percent didn't know what Fall Fest is and 10 percent don't care and are not planning on attending.
Some students polled by The Spectrum said their excitement for the lineup stems from the disappointment of its predecessor.
The two biggest grievances from students appear to be the genre and unfamiliarity with the artists.
Last semester's Spring Fest headlined Rick Ross, Fabolous, Tyga and the New Boyz and the lack of balance has brought both praise and objections from UB undergrads.
On the Fall Fest 2012 Facebook event page, many came forward and asked when SA will have another non hip-hop act headlining, while others praised SA for an ideal lineup. Annibelys Reyes, a freshman international studies major, expressed another focal point many students have made about the lineup: unfamiliarity with the acts.
"J. Cole is cool and everything, but I [only] know two of his songs. I've never heard of French Montana and Childish Gambino," Reyes said.
According to the response SA has gotten on Facebook and Twitter, the undergraduate student reaction has largely been positive, said SA President Travis Nemmer.
"The reality is that we could get The Beatles, Tupac, and Jimmy Hendrix back and people would still complain," Nemmer said.
According to the Fall Fest Facebook event page, 1,693 people said they are going to attend. The number of public admission tickets sold is not yet available, according to Nemmer. Yet he believes there will be a large turnout since this is the first fest that has landed on a holiday weekend in several years.
Die-hard hip-hop fans are enthralled to watch these rappers perform.
Muhammad Jaffari, a freshman pharmacy major, believes SA should continue to bring hip-hop and rap artists to the fests. He was able to attend last year's Spring Fest while attending UB's open house, which sparked his interest in this year's show.
"[Fall Fest] is going to be amazing ... [Spring Fest] was a great time. I went with some friends. Tyga is awesome. So is Rick Ross," Jaffari said.
J. Cole has been coming up in the mainstream music scene since he signed to Jay-Z's label, Roc Nation, and he has since garnered quite the fan base. Rap fans recognize J. Cole for his lyricism as his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, outlines the journey from benched and unsigned to being internationally known.
Childish Gambino might be recognized for his acting and comedic career more so than his music. Also known as Donald Glover, the rapper/actor/comedian plays Troy on NBC's Community and also has done stand up features on Comedy Central. Gambino's lyrical abilities help him appeal to hardcore rap fans, but his content appeals to the untraditional hip-hop fan.
French Montana's sound will bring the party element to Fall Fest. His recent single, "Pop That," has taken over hip-hop airwaves and his debut album, Excuse My French is slated for a November release.
Fall Fest is this Saturday at Baird Point. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Senior News Editor Lisa Khoury contributed reporting to this story.
Email: arts@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
