Seniors who anticipated rapper Lupe Fiasco’s concert at their freshman year LDOC will finally have a chance to see him perform in their last semester.
Three years after canceling his 2008 Last Day of Classes show, the award-winning Fiasco will perform at Duke March 31.
The show—which will be held in Erwin Park on Central Campus—replaces the Cameron Rocks! concert held in previous years. An opening band for Fiasco will also be announced this week, said Karen Chen, Duke University Union Major Attractions Committee chair.
“Lupe was considered for LDOC three years back, so it was the perfect opportunity to bring him and have the show we never had three years ago for LDOC,” said Chen, a senior. “We considered a number of artists and we knew Lupe was coming out with a new album in March, so we thought it would be appropriate to bring Lupe to campus.”
Fiasco was originally scheduled to play at LDOC in 2008 along with Third Eye Blind, Journey cover band Frontiers and Carbon Leaf, a folk-rock jam band from Virginia. Fiasco’s agent, however, canceled the concert to allow Fiasco to tour with rapper Kanye West, singer Rihanna and alternative band N.E.R.D.
Although Fiasco gave a verbal commitment to perform at Duke the following semester, he canceled that show due to financial and logistical constraints.
Chen said DUU is not worried about another cancellation because the concert is in two weeks. Chelsey Northern, Fiasco’s regional press contact at Atlantic Records, confirmed Tuesday that the artist will be playing at Duke.
“In looking at the calendar now it does say [Fiasco] is performing at Duke,” Northern said, adding that the rapper is unavailable for comment this week because he is on “voice rest.”
The event has received positive feedback, as more than 1000 students indicated within 24 hours of the announcement that they plan to attend the concert on the event’s Facebook page.
Chen declined to comment on the cost of event, noting that those figures are often “kept under wraps for negotiation purposes.”
Fiasco’s performance marks the first time Erwin Park is being used to host a concert.
“I think this is kind of a test run to see if this space can be used for a concert,” Chen said. “Coming off last year when we had Cameron Rocks!... we realized that after that event the acoustics in Cameron [Indoor Stadium] aren’t that great and also that the audience is restrained to their seats. It doesn’t given them the opportunity to get up and dance.”
Chen said she met with Duke Athletics to secure the baseball field and is now working with Event Management to ensure safety at the event. Chen added that the park can hold a maximum of 5,000 individuals with all gates open, which is comparable to Cameron’s capacity.
The committee announced Fiasco’s concert on Facebook late Monday night. Pre-sale tickets for Duke students will be available March 21 and will cost $25 each. The general public can purchase tickets starting March 23 for $35 each. Tickets sold at the door will cost $40. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. and doors will open at 7 p.m.
Fiasco’s most recent single “The Show Goes On” from his latest album “Lasers” is currently ranked 39 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list. The rest of the “Lasers” album was released March 8 and sold 204,843 copies in its first week, according to Hits Daily Double. Fiasco’s single “Superstar” from his 2007 album “Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool” reached number 10 on the list, making it his highest charting single.
Several students said they are excited about the event and its unique location.
“I’m always excited when a new artist comes to Duke,” said freshman Caroline Hall. “I think it’s actually a good thing to bring more people to Central... to see there’s a lot more to it than housing.”
Fiasco’s unique lyrics and social activism make him a great fit for the student audience, sophomore Bo Triplett said.
“He’s probably one of the best up-and-coming artists right now. It’s huge for Duke and it’s huge for Lupe,” Triplett said. “Lupe’s known for his lyricism and message for social change and it will have a good impact especially with all of the stuff going on in Japan. He already has a couple songs out about it.”
Correction: This article previously stated that Carbon Leaf is from North Carolina, but it is from Virginia. The Chronicle regrets the error.
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