Rap, Despite the Rain

Rainy, 50-degree weather didn’t stop loyal fans from gathering in Flavet Field to see rappers Common and Kid Cudi perform in an end-of-the-semester bash on Friday night.

With the first flicker of the stage lights, fans chanted in unison, as if on cue, “Cudi! Cudi! Cudi!” After about 15 minutes of chanting, with guys and girls anxiously looking for a sign that he was somewhere near the brightly-lit stage, Cudi made his entrance.

Dressed in a black Ice Cream hoodie, blue jeans and a Cincinnati fitted-cap, Mr. Solo Dolo’s swag was felt. He opened with a couple songs from his A Kid Named Cudi mixtape, but quickly took listeners into another galaxy when he performed songs from his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day. Umbrellas bopped up and down in unison with nodding heads as the songs "Soundtrack 2 My Life," "Simple As…," and "Up Up & Away," to name a few, blared through the speakers.

Cudi announced that he was nervous because he was going to debut a new song. People cheered him on for support, and then the beat dropped for the chart-topping single "Day 'N’ Nite." The screaming escalated into a full-fledged celebration as Cudi laughingly said “I got jokes.” A little less than halfway through the song, he started throwing beach balls into the crowd as rain-covered concert-goers passed them overhead from one side of the field to the other.

Equipped with a live band and DJ, Common energetically took the stage, dressed in a grey Gators sweatshirt. He immediately showed love to the ladies and even had a little audience participation when he pulled a woman to the stage and serenaded her with the song "Come Close." Longing eyes that said “I wish I was her,” filled the field as ladies watched intently. Lighters went up and cell phones glowed when Common performed his hit-song "The Light" in memory of J Dilla, his long-time friend and collaborator in music.

Another highlight of the show was when he took it back to the days when he was known as Common Sense, and delivered a freestyle that shouted out Urban Meyer, Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes and the rest of the Gator football team as the best team in the SEC.

Midway through his set, Common brought Kid Cudi back to the stage and they performed the song "Make Her Say (Poke Her Face)," and the pandemonium of an epic duo bringing their talent to Gainesville continued to escalate.

If ever there was a time when rainy weather on a cold, winter night felt like a sunny summer day, this is it. A dull moment was null and void as Common and Kid Cudi made it clear why they are both signed to a record label called GOOD Music.

-Margaret Francois; Photos by Sarah Hsu