Arts & Entertainment
Ole Miss Paid $130,000 for Wiz Khalifa Concert, Website Reports
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.
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