By Amira Turner and Kiara Jones-Ford
For most CUNY students, attending private concerts on a Friday night is not a common occurrence, but Hunter College’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) is working to make it one. On April 12, Hunter College’s USG hosted a high-energy night of music for CUNY students at the Terminal 5 concert hall, headlined by alternative rapper Rico Nasty. Hundreds of CUNY students stood in line, clad in their best concert looks, excitedly awaiting the chance to see Rico Nasty up close and personal with their peers.
The D.C.-based rapper’s performance was wholly representative of her unique musical aesthetic that she has dubbed “Sugar Trap.” In an interview with Vlad TV, she described the genre as a blend of her love for the grimy elements emblematic of traditional Trap music and her bubbly personality. Her music combines booming Trap beats with playful feminine aesthetics and alternative rock influences, and her lyrical content is energetic, provocative, and explicit. All of these characteristics combined to create a performance that kept crowds jumping and screaming from start to finish.
DJ Sir Future kicked off the night strong with a set of hits, from Ice Spice’s “Princess Diana,” to Paramore’s “Misery Business,” drawing hype from the crowd as they eagerly awaited Rico Nasty. After much anticipation, Rico Nasty burst on the stage, playing into her edgy aesthetics with an all-black shirt and sweatshirt combination, topped off with an Adidas Y-3 UT cap. Rico opened her performance with “OHFR?” an anthemic hit single off of her debut album “Nightmare Vacation.”
Rico Nasty’s hour-long set included several of her popular songs such as “IPHONE,” “Poppin,” “Money,” “Gotsta Get Paid,” and “Arintintin,” a single from her latest EP, “HARDCORE DR3AMZ.” Her performance was set off by her masterful flow and her larger-than-life stage presence that commanded every inch of the stage.
The show by Hunter College’s USG members was to ensure CUNY students get the most out of their college experience. In an interview with The Vanguard, External Affairs Commissioner Daniel Cronin said that he felt many CUNY students “struggle with finding a sense of community,” and wanted to remedy that sentiment with larger social events.
“Students aren’t afforded the same social opportunities that other colleges may offer, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” Cronin told The Vanguard. “CUNY ought to be fun, there’s no reason our events can’t be as big as any other school.”
To other organizers, hosting the event was a means of showing that public colleges can have the same great experiences as those at private universities.
“Going to college at a public school specifically, I was really nervous I wasn’t going to have the college experience everyone imagines,” USG evening affairs commissioner Sofia Rothermel told The Vanguard. “Going into this school year my goal was to make people feel like they were getting the private school experience in a sense.”
Rothermel expressed how “surreal” it was seeing her efforts come to fruition. “I was overwhelmed with all the people I had to contact and stay in touch with, but I had a great support system who encouraged me the entire time. Without their undying faith in me, this event would not have been possible.”
USG President Bashir Juwara feels that planning events like this is important for classes of students whose high school experience was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Many students in the Class of 2024 missed out on traditional high school events like prom or attended their high school graduation via Zoom,” Juwara told The Vanguard. “Many CUNY students anticipate gatherings like this concert, where they can socialize with friends, make new acquaintances, enjoy themselves, and alleviate academic pressures,”
Hunter’s USG hopes to make this kind of event more regular. They’re continuing to host events throughout the spring, the concert just the latest of their planned itinerary for the remainder of the semester. Cronin told The Vanguard that students will “be seeing more from [them] soon.”