Nappy Roots to headline Fall Hip-Hop Show

Rap outfit Nappy Roots will headline the annual Fall Hip-Hop Show, which will return to Dewick-MacPhie Dining Hall next Thursday night after a one-year hiatus.

The Concert Board expects high attendance and a possible sell-out on the first day of ticket sales for the show, which will open with artist Kenny Muhammed. "People are just really excited about seeing [Nappy Roots] in a really small venue," Concert Board Co-Chair Amy Dunphy said.

Nappy Roots became an early favorite on the Concert Board's list, which included other artists like Blackalicious, Mos Def, J-Live, and Talib Kweli, Board Co-Chair Omar Ellis said. "The name always came up, whether it was with our agent, between ourselves, or amongst our group," he said.

The rap group is currently touring with Nelly and cancelled a tour date in the Midwest to come to Tufts, Ellis said. It will also appear at Boston College the night before their Tufts performance.

The timing of the concert is good because Nappy Roots is on the verge of making a breakout, according to Dunphy. "It's really great that we're getting them right now because we're going to see them go on to do bigger and better things," she said.

The student-run Concert Board, which arranges four major campus concerts each year, selects performers for the Fall Hip-Hop Show. The annual show was canceled last year after the event's funds were allotted to bring Billy Joel to Tufts.

Controversy surrounded the Concert Board's decision to cancel the Fall Hip-Hop Show last year after the Board submitted a bid to secure a campus performance by Billy Joel. The $15,000 rap show budget instead went toward Joel's $35,000 price tag. "Last year was the aberration," Ellis said. "It's not every year that Billy Joel comes."

The absence of a hip-hop show last year, and the downsizing of this September's Fall Fest, which lacked live entertainment altogether, leaves a lot riding on the return of the Hip-Hop Show. "A lot of the freshman didn't even know there was a hip-hop show because there wasn't one last year," Ellis said. "There wasn't really any hip-hop representation for a year."

Previous Hip-Hop Show artists include Run-DMC, Rahzel, and the Pharcyde.

Nappy Roots was formed by six students at Western Kentucky University in 1995. Their Atlantic Records debut, Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz, was released this year and produced the recent radio hit "Awnaw." The group has received critical acclaim for their organic hip-hop sound, which is typified by unique rhythms and country-inspired instrumentation.

Opening act Kenny Muhammed, known as The Human Orchestra, hails from the New York hip-hop scene and is known for his beat boxing and one-man vocal performances. His work includes guest appearances on Rahzel's Make the Music 2000 and the X-Ecutioners' Built from Scratch. "I had seen [Muhammed] perform before and I knew that he'd be a good show," Ellis said. "All he needs is a microphone."

While Nappy Roots will draw people to the show, Dunphy said, she thinks students will be "really impressed" with Muhammed.

In response to the requests made by attendees of previous years' concerts, the Concert Board will also sell Hip-Hop Show t-shirts at a table in the Mayer Campus Center. In the past shirts have only been available to concert staff.

Fall Hip-Hop Show tickets go on sale at the Campus Center Info Booth at 9 a.m. Nov. 14. Tickets are $5 with Tufts ID. The show is Nov. 21 at 9:30 p.m.