'Bluff City Bash' headliner performs half a show, still paid full amount

This is the most the university has paid a single performer in at least the past four years, according to a Daily Helmsman article from April. For Spring Fling 2014, Big Sean played for an hour and was paid $60,000. Ludacris played the Homecoming 2015 concert for an hour and made $70,000. For Spring Fling 2016, hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd was paid $75,000 for an hour-long performance. T.I. performed at Homecoming 2016 for 50 minutes and was paid $75,000. 

The Nov. 10 “Bluff City Bash†concert was planned to run from 6 to 9 p.m., according to Sally Parish, associate dean of Student Leadership and Involvement. In the contract between the U of M and Slaughter Gang Touring, 21 Savage’s agency, the performance was set to begin at 8 p.m. and last for an hour. The artist did not go on until after 9 p.m. and only performed  for 30 minutes, according to multiple student reports.

“21 Savage has recently received some negative press recently not just about this show here, but about other performances around the country,†Parish said. 

Parish also confirmed 21 Savage was paid the full $85,000 agreed upon in a contract, even though the performance did not last the full-allotted time.

Regina Hayes, president of the Student Activities Council (SAC), said money that is allocated to SAC comes from an activity fee that every student pays.

During the 2017-18 undergraduate on-campus program fees, students taking six or more hours paid $818.50, and students taking one to five hours paid $114 per hour for the program fees.

“A general student activities fee portion of that [program fees] goes to SAC,†Hayes said. “That’s why when we have events, and they are free to our students.â€

Some of the student fees also came from “large event fee†that is allocated at the beginning of the year, according to Hayes.

Hayes said she initially got a lot of positive feedback from students when they first heard 21 Savage was coming to campus, but the shortened performance left them disappointed.

“Clearly, we all were very upset because the set wasn’t as long as intended,†Hayes said. “That is something we refuse to ignore … That was totally out of our control.â€Â 

Ben Anshutz, the senior agent with Gotham Artists, who works as a talent agent for the university, said 21 Savage performed a shortened set because Savage felt he couldn’t medically continue. The university did not know of a medical condition beforehand.

As the “Bash†was held on the University Center lawn in 45-degree weather, Savage couldn’t be out in the cold for a long period of time, according to Hayes. Though his performance was half of the originally planned and contracted time, Anshutz said 21 Savage’s management almost did not let him perform at all.

“They [U of M representatives] said ‘Why don’t you perform for as long as you can before you feel like it’s become hazardous to your wellbeing, health and safety,’†Anshutz said. “He performed for approximately 30 minutes, at which point he felt like he couldn’t medically continue.â€

Anshutz said 21 Savage’s team was not aware the show would be outdoors, but were reminded multiple times through emails that it would be. Still, Anshutz said Savage’s road managers did not have “the best communication†and that “a lot of it was done over text message instead of email.â€

“They were astounded and confused that it was an outdoor show, even though they’ve been told multiple times that it’s an outdoor show,†Anshutz said. 

Anshutz also said once it was known that 21 Savage could not be in the cold, space heaters were immediately found and put on stage.

“If we had known before, we would have had industrial heat lamps ready to go,†Anshutz said. “Instead, they [his team] didn’t bother to read anything. If they did, they forgot.â€

Anshutz said 21 Savage’s team consists of road managers who are with him day-to-day and office managers who call the shots. His office managers were not aware of 21 Savage’s medical condition, Anshutz said.

“His own team doesn’t communicate well with each other,†Anshutz said. “That causes these kinds of problems for people like us on the ground that were trying to do everything we can to put on a successful event for the students, so they can enjoy it and have a great night that they’ll remember.â€

The rapper also had a scheduled performance at a Los Angeles nightclub at 10 p.m. (midnight Central time) the same night he performed at the U of M, according to Ticketmaster and Live Nation, a concert listing website.

“They’re not used to working this much when they have this level of an artist on their hands,†Anshutz said.  

The press contact for 21 Savage did not respond to The Daily Helmsman.

William Sanders contributed to this story.