Juicy J performed at the Hooper Eblen Center Tuesday, April 7 for the spring S.O.L.O. concert with opening act DJ Enferno. The former Three 6 Mafia member played in front of a crowd of approximately 6,500 people, said SGA President Emily McDonald.
DJ Enferno opened for Juicy J with an hourlong set that included live remixes as well as pre-recorded mixed tracks. Enferno performs approximately eight college shows a year.
“This year will be more, and it’s growing,” said Enferno. “It’s a lot of fun. The college crowd is pretty cool, especially with energy.”
After Enferno finished his set, Juicy J took the stage. During the performance, Juicy J performed excerpts from the Three 6 Mafia catalogue, his verse from Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” as well as the chorus from his song “Bandz a Make Her Dance.” Students were split in their opinions of Juicy J’s show; some believed that this S.O.L.O. concert experience was the best of the nine performances Tennessee Tech has offered.
Basic business major Hunter Scruggs enjoyed the experience.
“I appreciate (Juicy J) as a performer because there was a lot more interaction with the crowd,” said Scruggs. “There was a moment where he walked around the whole audience.”
Seth Anderson, a chemical engineering major, enjoyed the concert atmosphere but had a different reaction to Juicy J’s set.
“Juicy J’s performance wasn’t that great,” said Anderson. “I noticed he had a cover guy right behind him the whole time. I think he might have been covering some of his lyrics too.”
Cookeville Police Department provided additional security for the concert. Seventeen officers from Cookeville PD were initially requested by the University to provide a larger police presence. At approximately 10 p.m. four more Cookeville officers were sent to the Hoop to aid in crowd control, said police sergeant Jon Giezentanner. In comparison to last semester’s S.O.L.O. concert featuring Neon Trees, only 13 officers were requested.
“We have had rap artists there before but it wasn’t that bad,” said Giezentanner. “It was worse than the other concerts that have been there.”
At the S.O.L.O concert, Cookeville police made at least two arrests with at least one being made for underage intoxication, said Giezentanner.
“We could’ve made several arrests, but we didn’t really have the man power to arrest people, so we cut tags and sent them on their way,” said Cookeville patrol officer Shane Livingston.
Students and police officers reported smelling marijuana smoke in the Hoop.
“I didn’t see any, but I heard a lot of rumors about marijuana and smelled a lot of it,” said Livingston. “When I got into the crowd to look for it, I heard people talking about it and passing it around but never did see it.”
7,000 tickets were available for students to claim beginning March 24, all of which were distributed by Thursday, April 2. A total of 800 wristbands were distributed for floor access, while 760 wristbands were dispersed at the door on a first come first served basis.
Forty wristbands were awarded to 20 students who won the Student Government Association “Repost to Win” giveaways, said McDonald. The winners of the giveaway were granted floor access to the show.
Juicy J was paid $45,000 from SGA to perform at Tech, and Enferno was paid $6,000.
McDonald said she was satisfied with the level of enthusiasm the student body displayed at the S.O.L.O. concert.
“During my time in SGA, I have always enjoyed seeing the success of these concerts,” said McDonald. “It is very rewarding to see our student body excited about attending the many concerts SGA has.”
