Supply chain management sophomore Saffal Tall , who raps under the name FowL, won the Red Bull EmSee: The Road to 8 Mile competition which brought rappers from across the country to Detroit to battle for first place. Tall will be opening for Big Sean Thursday at the MSU Auditorium.
—Detroit native and rapper Saffal Tall is getting the chance to bring together two things he loves this Thursday — his music and his university.
Tall, a supply chain management sophomore who goes by stage name FowL, is one of five hip-hop artists performing on Sept. 9 at a concert sponsored by the Residence Halls Association, or RHA, at the Auditorium.
Two of the artists, rapper Big Sean and hip-hop crew Fly.Union, will play their second shows in East Lansing after a sold-out RHA concert last fall. Rappers Chip Tha Ripper, Dom Kennedy and FowL will make their debut.
FowL, who’s been rapping for six years, recently won a national freestyle competition in Detroit judged by Eminem, “Red Bull EmSee: The Road to 8 Mile.”
He said nothing could give him greater joy than performing at MSU.
“Everyone’s going to know me,” FowL said. “There’s going to be so much love out there.”
Rodney James, RHA’s director of special events, said the association decided to bring Big Sean and Fly.Union back to MSU after a concert they headlined in 2009 sold out within hours.
The concert site has nearly tripled, since it was moved from the Union ballroom, which has a capacity of about 450 people, to the 1,200-person capacity at the Auditorium.
“The concert got sold out last year, so we decided to bring back some of them (the artists) in a bigger arena so more people would get the chance to see everyone,” James said.
So far, 800 to 900 tickets have been sold, James said. He expects the event to sell out. James said he did not know how much the concert was costing RHA.
“All of our shows that have had the highest attendance have been hip-hop,” James said, citing last spring’s Kid Cudi concert as an example.
Detroit-native Big Sean will play some songs from his recently-released “Finally Famous” mixtape at the concert, said Big Sean’s manager, Andrew Bonsu.
Bonsu describes Big Sean’s style as fresh, motivational music and said the rapper is excited to be back in East Lansing.
“He’s going to be playing some new songs, some old songs and is just going to put on a good show,” Bonsu said. “There’s going to be a few surprise guests.”
Finance freshman Eric Phelps said he wants to buy tickets to the concert, especially
since tickets are such a good deal.
“I heard Big Sean at a Chiddy Bang concert in Detroit and then I know Chip tha Rip because he’s in some Kid Cudi songs,” Phelps said.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Auditorium. Tickets are available at $5 for students and $10 for the public and can be purchased through the Wharton Center’s box office.
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