Arts & Entertainment
Ole Miss Paid $130,000 for Wiz Khalifa Concert, Website Reports
Photo by Walter Lyle
The University of Mississippi shelled out $130,000 for a concert by rapper Wiz Khalifa back in August, according to The College Fix.
The website reported today that it had obtained a copy of the university’s contract with the rapper’s management company through a public records request.
The UM Student Activities Association’s (SAA) decision to bring Khalifa to campus for a back-to-school concert on August 25 was controversial from the start. The rapper has been accused of promoting drug use and abuse of women.
At the time, SAA Director Brady Ruffin told HottyToddy.com that students reacted positively to the concert. “Wiz Khalifa was the preferred artist by an overwhelming majority of the council,” he said. “The Executive Council felt that the artist appealed to many of our students, and our feedback thus far has been extremely positive from our constituents.”
Ole Miss Student Union Director Bradley Baker told HottyToddy.com in August that students could make their own choice about attending the concert. “As with all SAA-sponsored events, it is important to note that these activities are optional and only students who choose to attend will be there,” he said. He added that the SAA’s Executive Council “selected Khalifa based on interest by the broader student body and is aware that the program content is not an expression of institutional values.”
Some alumni, on the other hand, were outraged by the choice. Khalifa “celebrates the ‘gangsta’ ideology, which has not one redeeming quality in today’s society,” Breck Hines, a 2001 graduate, said. “I’m not sure there is a 10-second span in one of his songs where hardcore profanity is not used. Is this what you would want your daughters going to as a ‘Welcome Back Students’ event?”
From staff reports.
For questions or comments, email hottytoddynews@gmail.com.
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | W, 28-10 |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | 11:00 AM ABC or ESPN |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | 2:30 PM ESPN or ABC |
Hoppy Langley
October 12, 2017 at 4:55 pm
I think it’s disgusting that the concert was held.
Ole Miss is right, people don’t have to attend but, but I hope Chancellor Vitter and Ross Bjork, who let the event take place, don’t have to give another dime because of stupid decisions like this.
Don’t you think the money spent on this concert, if you want to call it that, would have been better spent on the Ole Miss band that entertains us weekly at sporting events? You guys need your head examined
Waite Ligon
October 12, 2017 at 7:21 pm
Hoppy is spot on! May as well have set that money on fire for all of the good it did for those in attendance. Right, no one had to attend, but the $130K paid to that rapper was not the total extent of the expense to the University by any means. The band could have used those funds much more wisely for instruments, travel etc, and they reward us at every turn with quality performances that certainly benefit all of Rebel Nation.
That guy ( the rapper) has the morals and language of an alley cat. Great examples of just what the student body needs to prepare themselves for future endeavors.
Disgusting!
Ruby Begonia
October 12, 2017 at 7:55 pm
The U called me the other day soliciting donations. I told them they should call this thug and ask how much he will give.
Vitter and bjork are just worthless. I so look forward to them run out of Oxford.
Bud Ray
October 13, 2017 at 2:25 pm
Vitter and Bjork wasting this money, then blaming the students for hiring this thug, is a prime example of “Loss of institutional Control” It is past time for the IHL to remove these two devious people. If not now, when IHL?