Last year, the council decided to forego bringing a band to Springfest altogether, opting to put student bands on stage.
Holding the concert separately from the actual Springfest this year allowed the organizers a wider range of selections.
“One reason that we decided to go with the Friday night is that it gives us a little more leeway because, as we’re all aware, Springfest is a family friendly environment,” Haan says. “So this gives us more leeway in terms of what kinds of artists we can have come perform.”
McCambridge added, “[At Springfest] Busta might have introduced a few words that people didn’t know.”
The organizers decided at the outset that they would bring a hip-hop performer to campus, hoping to bring a group more attuned to the campus zeitgeist.
“We limited our options to only hip-hop and rap groups because we really feel that this is the genre of music that is relevant for today’s student body,” Haan says. “We think someone like Busta Rhymes has a really wide appeal to a large part of the student body.”
Summers is still effectively co-sponsoring the concert. This year Springfest will be completely funded by the University, allowing the council to focus its funds on paying Busta.
The council will be paying Busta $40,000 for the concert, $10,000 less than his asking price. The council was able to pull off the financial coup by taking advantage of the fact that Busta already had a concert scheduled at Keane State College in New Hampshire tomorrow night, meaning that his transportation costs will be small.
“We didn’t lowball him, we just gave him a price that incorporated that knowledge,” McCambridge says.
The University will also cover the production costs for the concert, which McCambridge and Haan estimate to be $25,000 to $30,000.
Busta was the council’s second choice for the concert, behind perennial favorite Wyclef Jean.
Busta is one of the more recognizable rappers around, with a lackadaisical, often humorous rapping style. He began his career with underground darlings Leaders of the New School, with whom he released two albums. As a solo artist he hit it big in 1996 with the spastic “Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check,” whose oddly disconcerting video found regular rotation on MTV.
His reggae-tinged music has helped him to charm critics and fans alike. He has also appeared in films such as Higher Learning, Finding Forrester and Narc.
Haan and McCambridge say they hope their efforts to secure Busta for the event will help build a precedent of holding a night-time concert in the same weekend as Springfest.
“I think students tend to associate Springfest with that actual day of carnival events,” Haan says. “But we’re looking at it more as a Springfest weekend.”
