Entertainment Unlimited (EU) has announced that rapper Hoodie Allen will headline Music Takes Action (MTA) on Saturday, April 4.
Allen will be joined for the performance at Wink Arena by special guest and fellow rapper, Joey Purp.
Student tickets will become available on Feb. 10 in the Entertainment Unlimited office located in UCB 121 for $5. Students are able to purchase one ticket at the $5 price between Feb. 10 and Feb. 21 at 4 p.m., after which ticket prices will rise to $15. Tickets will be available at Wink Arena on the day of the show for $20 and can also be purchased online through Star Tickets. Doors will open for the event at 7 p.m.
Hoodie Allen is perhaps best known for his songs “No Interruption,” “Surprise Party,” and “Champagne and Pools.” The latter two songs feature 2018 Music Takes Action headliner blackbear. Allen’s album “All American,” which contains his most listened to song, “No Interruption,” peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 2012, and in 2014, his album “People Keep Talking” peaked at number 8, making them his most commercially successful albums.
Joey Purp has yet to release a studio album but released mixtapes in 2012, 2016 and 2018. Purp’s most popular song “Girls @,” which features Chance the Rapper was on the 2016 mixtape “iiidrops” and “Elastic,” his second most listened to song, was on 2018’s “QUARTERTHING.”
Artists are ultimately chosen by EU but student feedback plays a major part of the decision. Surveys are sent to students during the first semester and allow EU to gain information on what kind of artist students at Ferris are looking for. This year, despite the survey being emailed to all students, EU only received about 200 responses. Ferris music and entertainment senior and MTA co-coordinator, Veronica Anderson said the top responses for this year’s survey were pop, and hip-hop, followed by country in third place. Hoodie Allen falls into the Pop rap genre, seemingly covering both of the top two selections.
Ferris students initially had a mixed reaction to the announcement.
“I’m definitely interested in Hoodie Allen,” said Ferris insurance freshmen Grant Clark. “I’ve listened to him probably since middle school and I’m a freshman in college now. Hoodie Allen made great music back in the day and I can imagine he still makes great music now. I haven’t listened in a little bit but I’m definitely interested in the concert for sure. To me he has a couple of classics… No Interruption, No Faith in Brooklyn, and a just a lot of his older songs.”
Ferris international business and Spanish for the professions sophomore Xavion Murphy-Gill said he was unfamiliar with the artists, a statement echoed by several other students around him.
“Personally, I don’t know [Allen and Purp,] I’ve never heard of their music, but I think it’s a good opportunity for people to reach different genres of music,” Murphy-Gill said. “I feel maybe the majority of the community at Ferris knows these artists, but certain groups don’t. I think people will come out just for the simple fact that it’s an on-campus event, it’s music and people like music so they’ll enjoy the event regardless.”
For each ticket sold for the event, $1 will be donated to the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly. Donations will also be accepted at the event.