Since I have been at Florida A&M University, the homecoming concert has been kind of abominable.
Many of the students at our university choose to skip the event all together.
Why?
Because many students could care less about the acts that perform at the venue.
Honestly, it’s nothing but coonery.
Two years ago when Plies performed at the concert, he actually asked the women in the audience “how many of ya’ll smell like water,” in regards to their vaginas.
I have a friend who attended the concert and she relayed to me that many of the young women, some even in middle school, fed into this nonsense and responded gleefully to his advances.
“I will be your Bust it Baby,” said one middle-school-aged girl, according to my friend.
What exactly is this? And why is FAMU’s name attached to it.
Year after year we have the same archetype of “hood” entertainers.
Though I realize that there are many of us might listen to this type of music, this is a place of higher learning. We shouldn’t jeopardize the legacy of our institution because of our personal preferences.
Last year around this time, I actually had a conversation with the homecoming concert coordinator, who told me that there was actually an agency that the university uses to help in producing most of the concert.
The problem I have with this is that there is little to no student input. As a student body, we never see the artists we want.
Last year’s coordinator also relayed to me that the concert isn’t just for the students, but for the whole community. This, she said, is why some of the same “hood” artists are booked year after year.
This is understandable.
The FAMU community is deeply connected to not only the black community, but the Tallahassee community as well.
But, I highly doubt that other colleges in town, like Florida State University, take into count what the community wants when considering their homecoming concert.
We have to take back what is ours.
It’s our fees that help pay for the homecoming concert.
And furthermore, it’s our homecoming.
Wesley Martin is a senior magazine production student from Miami. He can be reached at Wes. N. Martin@gmail.com.