Just hours before starting the auditions to find an opener for its Halloween show, Ohio University’s Black Student Cultural Programming Board made noise when it tweeted who would headline the concert.
“BSCPB presents Ohio’s own Machine Gun Kelly …. (MGK)!! Oct. 26!!!” the tweet read.
The announcement was made at 5 p.m. Tuesday and was later confirmed by Winsome Chunnu-Brayda, the board’s advisor and associate director of the Multicultural Center.
Chunnu-Brayda said the group confirmed a $25,000 contract with the musician Tuesday.
“I’m excited,” she said. “I think the students really like him. When we tweeted today, we got really great feedback. Overall, if the students are excited, I’m excited.”
Machine Gun Kelly’s appearance will not be his first in Athens, as the Cleveland rapper headlined 8Fest in May 2011. Since the performance, his career has taken off after he collaborated with Three 6 Mafia’s Juicy J — the headliner for 10Fest.
In addition, MGK has become an Interscope recording artist and was featured on MTV’s Sucker Free Style.
Most recently, the artist has been working on his newest album, Lace Up, which is slated for release Oct. 9.
“When I found out he was coming, I was like, ‘Oh my God,’” said DC Moore, who performs under the moniker DC King of Hearts and is a second-year graduate student studying cultural studies in education.
Moore auditioned Tuesday to participate in BSCPB’s Battle of the MCs, which will decide the opener for MGK.
Ticket availability for the event has yet to be announced, but BSCPB is currently distributing raffle tickets for the chance to win admission to the Oct. 26 concert set to take place in Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.
lf328610@ohiou.edu
