News

From Goosebumps to the Guinness Book: Travis Scott breaks his own world record

Author: Janel Anicette

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Gilligan D.R.A.M Original Artwork

May., 2017, OHIO-- Rap artist Travis Scott, performed the song “Goosebumps” 15 times in a row. Audience members at Jacobs Pavilion in Cleveland, demanded multiple encores and the energy and excitement displayed by the crowd enabled Scott, to beat his very own record of performing the same song 14 times in a row. His record breaking encore topped the famous duo Kanye West and Jay Z, as their performance of the song “Niggas In Paris” was performed 13 times in 2012 during the Watch the Throne tour.

May 21, was the day in which hundreds of tweets surfaced in which the event received praise. Famous up and coming artist Offset, tweeted,” I was just ten feet away from Travis Scott and watched him perform goosebumps 15 times and get the world record. I can die happy.” Offset is a rapper that is a part of the new hip hop culture and a member of the popular group Migos. Travis Scott signed a record in 2012, with the Company Epic Records. He also made a deal in 2012,  that made him an in-house producer for Very GOOD Beats. He released his first album entitled Rodeo, September 4, 2015. His second album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight was released September 2, 2016, and has sold approximately 500,000 copies within the United States. As of January 13. 2017 the album was certified as Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.

A major accomplishment for Jacques Webster Jr., aka Travis Scott the album was a reflection of his upbringing and a part of his desire to share his life experiences. Travis Scott,had been born into a working class family from Houston, Texas but had been raised by his grandmother who he said resided in “the hood”.  Travis Scott, in an interview with Complex news stated,”  I seen random crazy shit. [I saw] mad bums and crazy spazzed out motherfuckers, I saw people looking weird, hungry, and grimey. I was always like, ‘I gotta get the fuck out this shit.’ It gave me my edge—[it made me] who I am right now.” He attributes his unique upbringing to his desire for diversity.  In the same interview Scott, described his move to the suburbs during his teenage years. Insisting that the suburban culture was fresh and diverse it inspired his music.  He aspired to create diverse music and made him want to avoid being typecast as a rapper. Travis Scott initially pursued producing and beat making at the age of seventeen and prefers to use Roland synthesizers to make his own beats. Travis Scott, will continue to make wakes as a talented artist and will soon embark on Kendrick Lamar’s Damn tour.

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Ariana Grande Announces Benefit Concert for Victims of Previous Attack

By Duncan Renshaw

23-year-old musician Ariana Grande has announced a benefit concert to occur on Sunday, June 4. The benefit concert is raising money for the attack that occurred at Ms. Grande’s previous concert in Manchester on May 22. The 22-year-old Suicide bomber killed 22 and injured at least 70, using a homemade explosive causing the tour to come to a stop.

The net gain of the money raised by the selling of tickets at the event will go towards the “We Love Manchester Fund” and according to Ariana Grande, survivors of the May 22 attack are eligible to go online and get free tickets to the benefit concert. Announcements have been made concerning security protocols and attendees have been asked not to bring bags in order to make entry into the concert quicker and easier.

Ariana Grande

It was announced that special guests to attend the concert will include Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Usher, and Pharrell Williams, and a couple more who are scheduled to appear at the concert. Also, the event will be livestreamed via radio as well as television through the British Broadcasting Channel. However, tickets to the event sold out very quickly after it was announced.

Ariana Grande Suggested that the “Dangerous Woman” tour, halted by the May 22 attack, would continue when she wrote “ I don’t want to go the rest of the year without being able to see and hold and uplift my fans.” The continuation of the tour was later confirmed via twitter by Live Nation with Ariana Grande playing in Auckland's Spark arena on September 2 later this year.

Ariana Grande wants her “Dangerous Woman” tour to be a “safe space” for all of her fans. She does not want a travesty like this to impede her from her tour and says she will stop at nothing. She seems determined to continue her tour and to keep her fans and their families safe. In a letter posted on her Twitter in regards to the attack, she wrote “We will not quit or operate in fear, we won’t let this divide us. We won’t let hate win.”

This is a link to Ariana Grande's website.

Governors Ball Music Festival 2017

By Michael Wallin

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The Governors Ball Music Festival is a musical festival held in Randall’s Island in New York City that is run over the course of three days. The annual festival began in the year 2011 and features many artists and performer of many different styles and genres. Some of these styles include Rock, hip hop, pop and folk. The Governors ball Music Festival also known as Gov Ball is produced by Founders Entertainment which is a festival promotion company located in New York City. The Governors Ball Music Festival not only features music it features some of the most popular food trucks and has plenty of other activities and games.

The 2017 Governors Ball Music Festival had 67 separate music performances over the span of June 2 to June 4. These acts featured some very prominent artists in the music industry. These artists include Chance the Rapper, Childish Gambino, Lorde, the Wu Tang Clan, Wiz Khalifa, and Mac Demarco. With such a large collection of well known artists it is no surprise that a large number of people attended. About 150,000 people were in attendance at the festival. Out of these 150,000 people Columbia High School senior, Zach Benslimane, was one of these attendees. “The food was great and the music was even better” said Benslimane. He said he was very impressed by the performers and really enjoyed himself there. However he said he was disappointed with Childish Gambino’s closing performance. “A lot of people left his performance early including myself” claimed Benslimane. Even though he felt as if the closing performance of one night wasn’t up to par he still believes that the Governors Ball Music Festival was an overall great experience and he would like to go again in the future.

Kristina Verdugo

Another attendee at the Governors Ball Music Festival from Columbia High School was junior, Turner Andrasz. Andrasz is a big music fan and was very excited to travel to Randall’s Island to see some of his favorite artists. “I was very excited to see Chance the Rapper and his performance did not disappoint” said Andrasz. He said it wasn’t only the music that made the Governors Ball Music Festival special. He said the atmosphere of Gov Ball was incredible. “There were so many cool people there from all over the country that all shared a passion for music” said Andrasz. He felt that the Gov Ball Music Festival was an overall positive experience for him. He said the food, the music, the people, and the culture there was fantastic. He highly recommends that anyone who can go should go. He said even if you’re not the biggest fan of music there is a lot of things for you to do there and that you can still have fun.

The 2017 Governors Ball Music Festival was a success. With 150,000 people in attendance and 67 different music performances many of the fans left feeling as if it was worth the time and money. Many students from Columbia High School went and enjoyed themselves. Many people from all over the Northeast gather at the Gov Ball Music Festival to celebrate music and to have a good time. People of all ages from all over come to the Gov Ball Music Festival to meet people who also share their passion for music.