For one night, the stately Akron Civic Theatre will become a hot rap cipher when Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy performs on Friday, March 5.
The Grammy nominated rapper whose hits include I'm So Hood, Go Getta (with R. Kelly) and the number one single Love In The Club (with Usher) will bring his Recession Tour (named for his third album) to town with Lil Boosie, Ron Brownz, and DJ Pro Style of BET's 106 and Park in tow.
Tickets are on sale now at the Civic box Office and Ticketmaster for $85.00, $55.00, $25.00
I'm pretty sure in my time in Akron, this is the first professional rap show at the Civic so that will be an interesting dynamic to watch the mostly elderly ushers help folks to their seats and stand around lookin bewildered as they wonder what in tarnation these kids are yelling about.
It'll also be interesting to see who fills those $85 seats. Hip Hop crowds are notorious for day-of-show, walk-up traffic a habit that terrifies most promoters.
Off the top of my head I can't think of anyone I know in this town willing to pay $85 of their own money to see Jeezy continually walk from stage left to stage right and (probably) grab his junk a few times up close when they can get the gist from the $25 seats and spend the rest of that money in one of our many fine downtown establishments (hey, you can't say I'm not a team player).
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
If someone put a gun to my head and said, "Watch this rapper perform or die!", I would take the bullet. This music is totally unharmonic to human ears. These rappers are terrible singers so they have to "rap" their "glamorized ghetto" lyrics. Sounds like a great time!
Dear God, I hope I am not working on this night because I have a feeling this is going to end badly downtown. Anyone remember what happened to the Barley House EVERY fri and sat nights?
Will is right, nothing sounds worse than live rap music. It really shows these new rap guys have zero talent, and no clue about harmony…. not that "I'm so hood" isn't going to be a long time classic.
While I do not think many…if any…of the $85.00 seats will sell at the Akron Civic Theare, I do think the show could do fairly well if the tickets in this specific area were lowered to $50.00 each and the others going for their already posted prices. In this economy, Akron, Slow-hio NEEDS anything it can get–Rap, R&B, Pop, Gospel or even Country–to generate revenue for area businesses that are struggling! Such businesses can capitalize off of events like this show by making themselves available to patrons once the show(s) are over for the night. As a former Akronite who now lives in Miami, Florida, I've seen the financial benefits of what such shows can bring to the big picture. They may not be an ideal form of music for some, but they definitely generate revenue for everyone involved: promoters, venue site owner(s), beauty salons/barber shops, clothing stores, hotels & restaurants. Stop relying on traveling to Cleveland for entertainment and reverse the trend by bringing quality entertainment (to Akron) that will make Cleveland & the rest of Ohio come to Akron to spend money!
Hey San…I think the Florida sun is going to your head, becuase I can't imagine any of the $85 seats will sell. You did make a point about bringing "quality" entertainment to Akron, hopefully someone in charge of concerts/shows will actually take that into consideration when they book future events
Oh boy, stay away from downtown that night (wait, nobody goes downtown anyway…)
I just saw Hall and Oates in Boca Raton, Florida last Friday night. If you want to see a stage of professionals perform harmonic sounds, both by SINGING and PLAYING INSTRUMENTS, try seeing their show. They will deliver and you will be amazed. I was blown away.
Never seen so many dudes whine