Photo credit: Aidan Bongiorno. Joe$ki Love.
SUNY Old Westbury’s homecoming week continued with a concert, paying tribute to the last 50 years of hip hop. Many performers took the stage on September 30th, at the John & Lillian Maguire Theater. They gave students a glimpse of the past and reflected on the popularity and generations of hip hop music.
The Maguire theater had a full crowd Saturday night, many students, alumni, staff, and family members were in attendance. As the crowd entered the theater, hip hop music was blasting from the speakers on the stage giving a sense of that upbeat feeling that hip hop is known for.
The concert consisted of two alumni performers, Moel Dewesei who goes by his hip hop name Kool Moe Dee (Class of ’87), being one of them. He is widely known as the creator of “fast rap,” a style used by a lot of hip hop artists to prove his or her skills. Dewesei’s best hits are “How Ya Like Me Now” (1988), “Wild Wild West” (1989), and “I Go To Work” (1989).
Photo credit: Aidan Bongiorno. The Fearless Four.
The second alumni performance was by Darryll “DLB” Barksdale (Class of ’97), with his group called the Fearless Four, they are widely known for their hits “Rockin’ It” (1982) and “Problems of the World (1982). The group was the first to sign with the major record label, Elektra Records, to produce the album “Creepin up on Ya” (1994).
The concert also had performances from two famous hip hop performers, including Joe$ki Love, who performed his platinum-selling 1986 single “Pee Wee’s Dance,” and KimieChen, an artist from Linden, New Jersey. KimieChen is in the early stages of her hip hop career. She’s inspired by the sounds of artists like Aaliyah, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Mary J. Blige and Toni Braxton.
Photo credit: Aidan Bongiorno. KimieChen
The concert overall was a smashing success and a great way to wrap up homecoming weekend. A variety of students that attended described the concert as “thrilling” while some called it “vibrating,” “up-lifting,” and “a true tribute to hip hop.”
