by Caitlin McCarthy
To kick off Fall Party 2013, Sewanee invited rapper Chingy to perform at Lake Cheston on the night of October 25th. The concert was put on by the Board and has been deemed a roaring success by all who attended. Students flocked to the huge tent hosting the concert and enjoyed a pre-show DJ who played a variety of rap and pop songs. The packed tent contained as many students as could squeeze in, eager to see the Chingy performance. Just prior to the rapper coming on stage, Caitlin-Jean Juricic (C’14) passed out copies of Chingy’s latest album titled, Chingology. A light show accompanied the performance, tinting the entire inside of the tent a blue-purple hue, creating an authentic concert-ness in Sewanee’s rural setting. Chingy performed a variety of his hits, including “Right Thurr,” “One Call Away,” “Balla Baby,” and “Holidae In.” The crowd went wild at his throwback song, “Dem Jeans.”
Extremely charismatic, Chingy warmly interacted with the students, high-fiving many of them and really getting into his performance. “He’s really friendly!” said Taylor Baird (C’15) after meeting him backstage. Juricic was equally impressed by the celebrity’s down-to-earth demeanor and eagerness to engage with the students. Fired up by his upbeat rapping, the entire tent became standing-room only as hundreds of students danced and sang along to every song.
With his catchy songs and memorable lyrics, Chingy made quite the impact on Sewanee. With one of the biggest names the University has ever pulled in, this concert was a notable kick off to the Fall Party Weekend. The entire audience seemed highly entertained by Chingy’s stellar performance at what he called in his Instagram photo caption, “Sewanee Tennessee University.”