Saturday night, UB will bring two of New York City's prominent hip-hop, R&B and rap DJs to Buffalo in an unprecedented event designed for students by the Student Association.
At 10 p.m. Saturday, the Sphere Entertainment Complex at 681 Main St. in downtown Buffalo will open its doors to the 18 and older public, with a discounted $5 entry fee for UB students and $10 for all others. Headlining the show will be DJ Green Lantern and DJ Envy, with special guest DJ Pudgee P.
SA President George Pape said ideas for the party began formulating when he witnessed similar events that took place through other universities.
"I thought it was a great idea, so I wanted to bring it here," said Pape.
Joe Guagliardo, owner of both the Sphere and Club Marcella in Buffalo, shared Pape's enthusiasm and said he expects a large turnout due to the magnitude of the artist's names.
"No one club could pull in the names of the DJ's we have," said Pape. "They're both probably the most famous New York City artists. We want to make this like Studio 54."
According to Pape, the total cost for this session of the DJ series is approximately $15,000, including rental of the Sphere, performers and security. Pape said the main goal of the event was not to make money, but to please the students, and doubts SA will recoup all the expenses.
Guagliardo dispelled concerns that the show might be cancelled after an altercation last Friday in which three people were stabbed down the street from the Sphere. The incident followed an after-party for Lil' Kim, who had performed at UB's Fallfest earlier in the day.
He said all appropriate safety measures will be in effect Saturday night.
"We're very well secured," he said. "We have off-duty officers, and they know what they're doing."
Guagliardo said that for him, dress code is a bigger concern than security.
"You dress to impress here - if you don't, I won't let you in," he said. "There will be no hoodies - no ghetto attire, basically. If you want to come in, you've got to go shopping."
Josh Evans, a senior African-American studies major said the series shows SA's interest in student entertainment.
"I'm planning on going," Evans said. "It seems like there's a lot more going on in terms of parties and student activities versus in the last year or two."
But junior management major Ayman Ezzat does not think a DJ series is a fair allocation of SA funds.
"It's too much expenses that were taken out of our pocket because Green Lantern is way too far out of the budget," Ezzat said.
Shaquan Murray, a sophomore undecided major, is excited to see famous artists from New York in Buffalo.
"They're coming out all the way from the city. I've got to go represent that," said Murray.
Eric Lind, senior biological sciences major, was dismayed by the event's lack of accessibility for students living on campus and those without cars.
"You're having this huge event and it's obviously very well advertised, yet there's no transportation nor any directions to the event. It doesn't seem fully planned out," Lind said.
Pape said SA is hesitant to invest in transportation until it calculates the turnout for the first DJ series, because there is concern over liability for alcohol-related problems.
For students with concerns about transportation, however, The Sphere is located in the Theater District on Main Street, within walking distance of a stop on the Metrorail.
According to Pape, two more DJ sessions have been arranged with the Sphere thus far. The next session will be DJ Sammy and DJ Encore on Oct. 18.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
