Because I got high…
When Afroman stood on the small porch of the apartment building, about to perform, he had absolutely no idea where he was.
‘I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m really f***ed up,’ Afroman said to the audience who filled up the Castle Court parking lot on Hamilton Street Saturday afternoon.
Later into his set, he stopped mid-song and looked around the area with wonder.
‘Wait, this is an apartment complex?’ he said.
Students were packed shoulder-to-shoulder to see the self-proclaimed ‘America’s Highest Rapper’ perform Saturday. It was an outdoor concert in the parking lot of Castle Court Apartment complex. The setting slightly resembled a cross between an outdoor barbeque and images of Woodstock.
A large crowd completely filled the parking lot, gathering around a small porch to hear Afroman perform his most popular songs.
The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity sponsored the concert, and the proceeds went to a non-profit charity that wished to remain anonymous.
During his most famous songs, ‘Because I Got High’ and ‘Crazy Rap’ (commonly known as ‘Colt 45’), which also happened to be the last two songs of his set, the audience went wild, exploding in song lyrics and waving their hands in the air along with song.
It was clear Afroman was practicing what he preached. When the door to his tour bus opened as students filed in and out to talk to the rapper, a large gust of smoke filled the area and lingered in the air, serving as an umbrella for the event.
Between songs, the rapper chugged Colt 45 and smoked. At one point he even took a joint from a member in the audience who passed it to him.
Despite his reputation for being more of a joke rapper than a legitimate performer, Afroman’s set showed that the rapper did have sheer talent underneath all the hair on his head and face.
He played his double neck guitar plastered with pictures of marijuana leaves along with many of his songs, often going off on his own solos. He also belted out a lot of notes at the end of his songs, giving him an authentic, soulful R&B sound which made him resemble a party version of George Clinton.
The audience seemed caught up in a haze of happiness and excitement from the beginning of the show, in lieu of the cloudy weather. When Afroman took the stage with a cigarette in his mouth, wearing a banana-yellow pinstripe suit, the audience went wild.
‘I thought he was great. It was one of the most successful concerts I’ve been to here’ said Jon Schwebel, a junior political science and legal studies major. ‘I’m familiar with his songs, but I wouldn’t say I’m a fan. I was happy to be a part of it. There were good vibes.’
Afroman began playing an instrumental jazz song on his guitar and then moved to singing his personal Christmas carols, ‘Afroman is Coming to Town,’ ‘Frosty’ and ‘Let Her Blow.’ People smoked and drank while slightly swaying along with the music.
During the middle of his set, it seemed the audience was getting restless listening to one song after another mostly about getting high and all pretty much sounding the same.
Audience members started to stir and move away from the tightly packed group. Fans started calling and chanting for him to perform his more famous songs. Eventually their wish was granted, and when the famous bass line of ‘Because I Got High’ started up, people rushed back into the middle and erupted in dance while singing along with the famous song of the early 2000s.
Before Afroman took the stage, jam band Sound and Fury performed while people trickled into the parking lot. The group covered songs by bands from Rage Against the Machine to Aerosmith. They even asked for requests from the audience.In the end, the event was all just about getting out and having a good time in the afternoon.
‘Happy Thanksgiving, happy holidays – any reason to get messed up,’ Afroman said to the audience.
Published on November 9, 2008 at 12:00 pm
