From break-dancing to crowd-surfing, Northwestern students at the One Voice Benefit Concert weren’t shy about getting down for a good cause.
Hip-hop Disc Jockey RJD2 and mash-up duo The Hood Internet performed to a sold-out crowd of almost 600 students in Norris University Center’s Louis Room on Friday night as part of this year’s concert.
“There has always been a music element (to One Voice), as a way of bringing everyone together on campus,” said Programming Chair Aditi Srinivasan, a Weinberg junior.
The concert, co-sponsored by A&O productions, also featured DJ Clash Gordon, Music ’08. Tickets for undergraduate students were $5 and $10 for graduate students and faculty.
Although doors opened at 7 p.m., Gordon didn’t take the stage until after 7:30 p.m., and students were still filing in by the time RJD2 began his set over an hour later.
In a set that lasted more than an hour, RJD2 spun soul and funk alongside hip-hop and pop, pulling records from a backpack as students danced. A video playing behind him looped various revamped clips from films and television shows, ranging from ’70s Bollywood cinema to Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Addressing the crowd, RJD2 was answered with a wave of enthusiasm as students chanted his name.
“I love Chicago, and I’m not just saying that,” he said. “It’s got f***in’ good food, intelligentsia, the best coffee in the world and my mom.”
Many students left at the end of RJD2’s set, leaving The Hood Internet with a much smaller crowd.
Weinberg sophomore Lauren Davis, who left after RJD2’s performance, said she thought the concert was “too slow.”
“It feels like a church social every time I go into the Louis Room,” Davis said.
Weinberg freshman Varun Kejriwal came for RJD2 but stayed for The Hood Internet and said he found the event unique.
“It’s not just some guy playing his greatest hits,” he said. “It’s more about the music playing and the video.”
The Hood Internet played until 11 p.m. They ended their set by thanking the audience with high-fives.
Profits for the concert will go to UNICEF and By the Hand, a Chicago after-school program. One Voice, which is comprised of several cultural and philanthropic NU student groups, chose primary education for children as their cause this year and hosted fundraising and educational events throughout the year to raise awareness on campus about their cause, members said.
Weinberg freshman Matt Yetter said while he wasn’t familiar with One Voice’s beneficiaries, he supported their cause.
“(A concert) is far more likely to get people to donate than selling ribbons in the dining hall,” he said.
Srinivasan said she thought the event was a success.
“I think it’s definitely important the people go and have fun – the point is to bring people together,” she said. “But if this event has raised the profile of One Voice, that’s definitely great, too.”
