“I saw a lot of people up front. They were vibing, dancing along with us, so it was real cool. I was really appreciative of the support they gave us,” Owusu-Kesse said.

Toward the end of Tha League’s set, which lasted an hour, students began chanting “Busta, Busta” in anticipation of the next act. But after about 30 minutes of mixing by DJ Gamble from New York, the crowd became impatient. Some students left even before Busta Rhymes arrived.

Once he showed up, the audience roared with applause.

“It was clear that Busta had widespread appeal, which was one of our top priorities,” said council President Matthew W. Mahan ’05. “I’ve never seen Harvard students get into a performance like they did [Friday] night," Mahan said. "The 2,000-plus people who stuck around got quite a show."

Helen O. Ogbara '05 said the concert was "refreshing."

"I feel like it was the first time that what was the chosen musician was what people wanted, so it was like everybody was out," Ogbara said. "He was really good at keeping the crowd very, very excited."

Jason A. Williams '04 said the delay between Tha League and Busta Rhymes "kind of killed the show a bit."

Nenna N. Nwazota '06 agreed. As she walked back across the river with her friends, Nwazota said, "Obviously my legs are aching, but I loved Busta Rhymes. The UC, they're stepping their game up."

The HCC was successful in its $40,000 bid for Busta Rhymes—$10,000 less than his asking price—in part because of funding received from the Office of the President.

Last November, the HCC held a concert featuring the band Guster. The event drew about 2,000 students to the Gordon Track and Tennis Center.

But some students complained that the band did not appeal to a majority of students.

"I'm happy that Harvard finally got the sense to get someone like Busta Rhymes to heighten student morale," said Natznet Tesfay '06. "I feel as if Busta Rhymes is marketable to all the people at Harvard, unlike Guster."

However, Jack F. Pararas, a prospective Harvard student from Needham, Mass., said the students who did attend the concert were not as enthusiastic as they could have been.

"I was sort of disappointed, to be honest," said Pararas, who was at Harvard for pre-frosh weekend and attended the concert. "It really wasn't the right crowd for it."

In addition to Busta Rhymes' delayed performance, some technical problems with the sound equipment riled some students.