Annual USD Olé Music Fest

Friday night had the University of San Diego campus buzzing as Jhené Aiko was set to perform following a performance by Kamaiyah. This year’s Olé Fest was different from previous years with a $5 entry fee, a new location in the Jenny Craig Pavilion (JCP) gym, and even a change in script from artist Kamaiyah. Following her performance the rapper tweeted: “This San Diego college performance has me feeling like NWA they won’t let me do n******* or out the bottle I feel like doing it anyways tf those are the people’s favorites.”

The Bay Area rapper went off script, rapping lyrics that were explicit and violating USD’s rules of censorship.

Shermee Randolph explained the repercussions of what happens when an artist violates these terms.

“We work to make sure all artists adhere to the mission of USD,” Randolph said. “If contracts are violated, university administrators present will assess the appropriate outcomes.”

Senior Kendra Rudd-Gloster, who has been a fan of the rapper for a couple of years, saw the tweet from Kamaiyah on Twitter.

“I thought the tweet was pretty bold, but I loved the transparency and actually thought the tweet was pretty funny,” Rudd-Gloster said.

Even though Kamaiyah went off script and ignored the censorship rules, Rudd-Gloster explained that the rapper was being authentic.

“Honestly, I think her saying that was just her being her,” Rudd-Gloster said. “If you know anything about hip-hop artists, you know they don’t like to be censored. Personally, I’m a Christian and I wasn’t really offended by it. I think that the school shouldn’t hire performers that they feel the need to censor — it’s kind of disrespectful if you think about it.”

Rudd-Gloster enjoyed Kamaiyah’s performance and the fact that she brought on backup dancers.

During the rapper’s performance Kamaiyah made an explicit claim about the “Christian school.” Annie Wright, who also saw Kamaiyah’s performance, didn’t hear the explicit commentary made by the rapper.

“I did see Kamaiyah’s performance,” Wright said. “I was a little annoyed by the repeated use

of the audience about doing shrooms or pouring water down the front of her clothing. But I don’t think that it was particularly controversial. Knowing the artists and the content of her music, it seems that such things were unavoidable.”

As a part of Olé Music Fest, TPB had student art galleries, spray-paint tattoos, and tic-tac-toe basketball. Senior Lyanne Dalida was excited to attend her last Olé Fest before graduation in May.

“I had a really fun time dancing at the silent disco and playing the festival games,” Dalida said. “They did a really good job with setting up the place that I forgot I was at school.”

After Kamaiyah’s performance the stage was set up for Jhené Aiko with numerous plants and light fixtures that created the ambience of a jungle as she swayed on the stage performing top hits “Post To Be” and “Sativa.”Singer-songwriter Jhené Aiko is best known for her EP “Sail Out” which was rated No.1on Billboard’s R&B chart. The artist has more than 44 million views on YouTube for her famous song “Sativa” feat. Rae Sremmurd and drew great attention when she contributed vocals to Drake’s album “Nothing Was the Same.” Aiko has since been building on her fame as a singer-songwriter and has collabed with artists including Chris Brown and Drake.

Dalida’s favorite part of the fest was Aiko’s performance.

“The lights (on the stage) were cool because it felt like I was back in Coachella,” Dalida said. “She was amazing on stage. Jhené was giving out advice on how to deal with school stress which I thought was amazing coming from a celebrity. Her voice throughout the performance was simply incredible.”

It was Donya Hashemi’s first time at Olé Fest.

“(Jhené Aiko) connected with the audience which was very inspiring,” Hashemi said. “I loved her performance and was also impressed by how talented she was and the fact that she added the harp.”

With a five dollar cover compared to previous Olé Fest which were free, a lot of students, like Hashemi, didn’t mind that there was a fee.

“I think it was worth way more than $5,” Dalida said. “It was great seeing her perform in general and the fact that it was so affordable was great.”

Close to 11 p.m. students slowly trickled out of  the gym. Friday’s performances set the bar high for TPB’s next music fest.

 

Correction as of 5/17/18:

The article states “The Bay Area rapper went off script, rapping lyrics that were explicit and violating USD’s rules of censorship.” However, it was confirmed by TPB Concert Coordinator second-year Kally Kenny that Kamaiyah did not go off script.

“Kamaiyah did not not go off script because when you sign an artist you can tell them what they can and can’t sing,” Kenny said. “We told her two songs she could not perform and she did not perform them. When she walked off the stage she played one of them (the songs TPB said not to perform) and cut it off before the bad part and didn’t let it play. Because it physically did not come out of her mouth, then it is not considered physically performing the song. She was allowed to perform the beginning part, but not the ending.”