In an atmosphere so cold students could see their breath, Lynn Eusan Park was the host for two Homecoming events last Thursday, beginning just as the sun was going down.
Waka Flocka Flame, best known for his hit “No Hands,” performed as the headliner for the 2019 homecoming concert.
When Waka Flocka Flame made it to the stage, the crowd of students had their cellphones raised in the air to capture the moment.
Hits from Waka Flocka’s set included, “Round of Applause,” “O Let’s Do It” and “Grove St. Party.” He also performed covers of a few songs for transitions such as “Turn Down For What” and “Mo Bamba.”
Waka Flocka Flame had a surprise in store for the crowd as he brought fellow rapper T-Wayne on stage to perform “Nasty Freestyle.”
To end the concert, the artist sang his 2010 hit “No Hands,” which left the concert goers in a muddy mosh pit.
“Although it was a slippery and cold night, I still really enjoyed Waka Flocka’s performance,” said media production freshman Clarissa Salinas.
Before Waka Flocka Flame took the stage, business management junior Deniz Sipahi, known by his stage name as Yung Turk, opened the concert.
“I’ve never performed with a live band before,” Sipahi admitted as he was on stage.
Yung Turk performed songs like “Pop,” “Out of Pocket” and “OG” and encouraged the students to participate by bouncing in the crowd.
Before the performances, the night began with carnival booths put up by the Student Program Board full of games, prizes and food.
“In previous years, when we’ve had the concert we’ve had a pre-concert event, so we wanted to do something,” said Homecoming Director of Productions Amari Outlaw. “So we wanted to have the same idea to have something for students to be able to get involved before the concert.”
This was the first Homecoming Fest of its name. In previous years of the Homecoming concert, Outlaw said they would have Homecoming Fiesta in a partnership with Frontier Fiesta to host different carnival based activities.
Some of the booths available to those in attendance involved a ring toss game, a popcorn station and a laser light photo booth.
“It’s all pretty fun, just a little bit cold out here,” biology freshman Saba Mohamed said. “My favorite game was the bowling ball one and my favorite thing was the cotton candy. It was pretty good.”