We have no type of emotion other than excitement after hearing the headliner for A&O Ball on Friday, April 29: American hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd.
The pair, which consists of two brothers, Khalif “Swae Lee” Brown and Aaquil “Slim Jimmi” Brown, will be one of two groups performing at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre for A&O Production's annual spring event, this year co-sponsored by For Members Only (FMO), Northwestern’s Black student alliance. The artists will perform at 9 p.m., following the performance of an opening artist who has not yet been announced, at 8 p.m.
A&O officials said they worked with FMO’s members to book the band after polling the Northwestern student body for better insight into their music preferences. Following the poll, A&O and FMO, who have co-sponsored Ball several times in the past, researched preferred artists’ cost and availability, ultimately agreeing upon the music duo.
“We’re always just trying to bring artists that have universal appeal to campus, and this one, especially when we’re co-sponsoring with FMO, we wanted someone who both of our groups could mutually agree upon,” said A&O co-chair Danny Brennan, a McCormick senior.
Rae Sremmurd, or “eaR drummerS” spelled backwards, originally debuted on a 2013 Mike WiLL Made It mixtape. Their name references Mike WiLL’s songwriting and production syndicate EarDrummers. The group quickly gained fame after issuing its first single “We” in February of 2014, and soon afterward picked up thousands more fans with songs “No Type” and “Throw Sum Mo.” Their 2015 album SremmLife also features the popular song “No Flex Zone,” which peaked at No. 23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Tickets to Ball are available Thursday, April 21 at 10 a.m. on the Norris Box Office website for $10. Free shuttles will bus students to and from the concert venue, the doors of which will open at 7 p.m. A&O officials say the opening artist will be announced in the next couple days.
Reporting contributed by Andrew Stern