Kanye West to perform at Penn Relays Concert

The artist behind the popular album College Dropout is returning to school this spring.

Hip hop artist Kanye West, along with Dilated Peoples, will join the Young Gunz at the Penn Relays Concert on April 23.

Organized by the Social Planning and Events Committee to Represent Undergraduate Minorities, this booking marks the return of the Relays Concert. Last year, the event was canceled after rap artist 50 Cent withdrew.

Event organizers said they are pleased with the selection of West, a well-known performer and producer in the hip hop industry.

"Kanye West was the first choice," said SPEC-TRUM Co-Director and College junior Darryl Wooten. "He was overwhelmingly the first choice, and we just happened to get him. We were really lucky with that."

Consultation with Spring Fling organizers about student preferences and collaboration within the SPEC-TRUM concert committee led to the artist selections.

Noting the popularity of Jurassic 5 at Spring Fling last year, Wooten said Dilated Peoples were selected because of their similar sound.

"They're a West Coast [group] ... with more of an underground following," he said. "We figured it was a way to expose people to a group that a lot of people might not be familiar with."

This year, the concert will be held off campus for the first time, booked instead at the Electric Factory.

"It's great. They're able to hold the number of people we expect, that was the main reason we decided to go with the Electric Factory," said SPEC-TRUM Co-Director and Wharton senior Tracee Hairston, stressing that an indoor venue alleviates weather concerns.

SPEC-TRUM plans for the concert to draw 2,250 attendees, with over half of the audience comprised of Penn students and their friends.

"We hope that Penn students will really come out and show support," Hairston said.

While some students said they were unfamiliar with West, Dilated Peoples and the Young Gunz, others expressed excitement about the upcoming event.

West's "music is really hot right now, that should be fun," College sophomore Gerren Price said.

"It's really good that [SPEC-TRUM was] able to pull a name like that," he added.

The directors also said they had received positive feedback about the selections.

"I've told people already, and they've been jumping up and down," Wooten said.

"This is something that everyone pulled together," Hairston added. "We hope the campus will share our enthusiasm."

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