Bender Arena was filled with an upbeat crowd on April 10, as the Student Union Board (SUB) and WVAU teamed up to bring Chicago artist Chance the Rapper for their final show of the school year.
At the start of the concert, student musical group Divided by Zero helped get the night going. As Divided by Zero played, the crowd began to slowly shuffle and move to the combination of hip-hop tracks mixed with synthesized guitar riffs. Later on, AU student and rapper LYRX joined Divided by Zero to open for Chance the Rapper. The two performed several songs together, but just as they started to get the crowd’s attention, they were suddenly cut off early due to tight scheduling. As the performers left the stage in grief, the arena’s lights blacked out.
After minutes of setting up and crowd chanting, Chance the Rapper jumped onto the stage. The arena began to light up as Chance performed songs from his latest album, “Acid Rap.”
On stage, Chance looked like a wound-up Tinkertoy, as he jumped and danced in between the band and his audience. While Chance broke into favorites such as “Cocoa Butter Kisses,” “Interlude” and “Chain Smoker,” his band Social Experiment subdued the audience into an acid jazz frenzy. Unheard on Chance’s studio albums, Social Experiment was able take studio tracks and spaz them out, making the songs sound more spontaneous. The jazz influence on Chance’s set, filled with fast pace drumbeats and loud trumpet solos, gave the audience a different take on many of the songs on “Acid Rap.”
Along with his band, Chance put on an astonishing SUB and WVAU collaborative show. Students screamed Chance’s lyrics and danced to his music as Bender Arena was transformed into a legitimate D.C. music venue. All around, there were beaming grins of happiness.
Full Disclosure: Zach Ewell is a member of WVAU.
