The Student Activities Council has announced BlocBoy JB and Jeremih as two of the three artists scheduled to perform at this year’s Spring Fling. SAC released the lineup for the Spring Fling performers via Twitter on Wednesday, and some students are indifferent about the selection.
Madison Inman, who does marketing and public relations for SAC, said the final act has already been booked, but they have decided to wait to announce the third act who will perform.
Some students on campus are looking forward to BlocBoy JB’s performance. The Memphis-born artist sent social media into a frenzy when he released the song “Shoot,” which started a dance craze. There were thousands of videos posted on Instagram and Twitter of people mimicking what JB calls the “Shoot Dance”.
“It’s going to be nice to have a Memphis rapper who is hot at the moment performing,” Kennedy Eaton, a sophomore health science major, said.
BlocBoy JB has gained an even bigger fan base after being featured on the Billboard Hot 100 song “Look Alive” with Drake and has become a recognizable name in and out of Memphis. But while some students are excited about BlocBoy JB’s upcoming performance, others are not looking forward to the other known artist.
“A lot of people are going to come out and support JB because he’s from Memphis, and Memphis people support Memphis artists,” said Jalen Veasley, a sophomore music industry major. “But Jeremih is a different story.”
R&B singer Jeremih, who is known for his songs “Birthday Sex”, “Oui” and “Love Don’t Change,” is the second artist SAC announced will be performing alongside BlocBoy JB at Spring Fling. Jeremih is an older artist and has some students concerned whether the concert will be worth attending.
Jamal Jones, a sophomore nursing major, said the University of Memphis is a diverse campus with a varied taste in music, and based on the lineup, campus diversity was not taken into consideration.
“The performers should have been people who we all know like SZA, Chance the Rapper, Childish Gambino or Frank Ocean,” Jones said. “They could have at least asked or polled us (students) to get our opinions.”
Every year there are some students who seem to be upset about which artists are chosen to perform. Jazmaine Beaty, a sophomore biology major, said she does not mind the performers who were invited this year.
“The lineup is okay, and I might go,” Beaty said. “I just think that if it were all rappers, it would help keep the crowd engaged.”
Drew Richter, a recording technology major, said he is in favor BlocBoy JB performing but wished the other artist better complemented the Memphis rapper.
“I think Post Malone or Blac Youngsta would have been lit,” Richter said.
Artists such as Tory Lanez, Rae Sremmurd, Rich Homie Quan, Metro Boomin, Ty Dolla $ign, Big Sean and Travis Porter have all performed at Spring Fling in years past. SAC competes against other spring music festivals for artist such as Coachella, Ultra Music Festival Miami and Beale Street Music Festival.
“I hope the final artist is someone worth watching because right now, BlocBoy JB is the only person people are looking forward to,” Chasity Blair, a sophomore health science major, said.
