"Gone til November," but coming in March?
The Duke University Union has reached a preliminary agreement to bring rapper Wyclef Jean to campus in March, two members of the Major Attractions committee confirmed last night. "As far as I and the other people on the committee know, he is coming," said Trinity junior Justin Lessek, co-security chair of Major Attractions.
According to an e-mail he received from Major Attractions chair Tiffany Hall, the show is scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday March 23, in Page Auditorium.
Hall, a Trinity senior, could not be reached Thursday night, although she had earlier declined to comment on the concert.
Union President Jeff Hindman said no date has been set and that no contract has been signed with Wyclef. "The fact is, up until someone signs on the dotted line, nothing is definite," the Pratt senior said. "Until all the details have been worked out, the chances are still pretty low that everything will come together."
But Lessek, and another member of Major Attractions who wished to remain anonymous, said they have been informed that Wyclef is coming. "That's exactly what the head of the committee told me," Lessek said.
This would be the first concert Major Attractions has brought to campus this year. Last year, the group brought in Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds-a decision popular with many students but criticized by others because so much of the committee's money went to funding a single show.
Hindman said he did not know how much it would cost to bring Wyclef to campus, and he added that Major Attractions is still negotiating with the artist. When asked to guess, he said a Wyclef concert in 1998 would have cost about $40,000 or $50,000, but added that his price has dropped substantially.
Wyclef, the Haitian-born rapper/producer who rose to stardom with the funk-inspired, hip-hop trio The Fugees, achieved substantial solo success with his album The Carnival-which went gold. But his interests are nearly as diverse as the reggae-rap-soul rhythms he helped make famous as a Fugee.
His diverse sound and mainstream appeal should make the concert popular with a relatively wide array of Duke students. "Everyone's got MP3s by him, so he would probably [appeal] to a large group as long as the tickets are not too expensive," said Trinity sophomore Jason Koslofsky.
Greg Pessin contributed to this story.
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