Collect all your bets, tally the votes and close all guessing polls because it’s finally happened. Today For Members Only and A&O announced Rae Sremmurd as the main performer for BALL. Rae Sremmurd, which is drummers ear spelled backwards, is comprised of brothers Khalif “Swae Lee” Brown and Aaquil “Slim Jimmi” Brown who originate from Tupelo, Mississippi and are based in Atlanta, Georgia . To date their most known songs are singles such as “No Flex Zone” and “No Type,” while their song “This Could Be Us” is responsible for last year’s aptly titled memes (click here if you somehow missed this viral trend). Taking in consideration the duo’s success as well as results of a campus poll, both A&O and FMO felt Rae Sremmurd would be the perfect artist to make their event a success. “We really wanted to choose a performer that would bring some freshness to the spring concert,” says FMO Chairman Cariana Chambers. “[And] we’re super excited for the fun that Rae Sremmurd will bring to BALL.” When A&O approached FMO earlier this year about combining their forces, naturally the primary question was who should headline the event. Typically, the two groups operate separately from each other in regards to spring quarter concerts. Each year A&O hosts BALL while FMO has a long tradition of sponsoring its own Spring Concert. The latter of which has been central in highlighting a specifically Black form of celebration on campus. Check out one of their hits below: Each year FMO hosts three large events that focus on different ways to represent the Black population on Northwestern’s campus. The State of the Black Union (which this year brought to campus famous alum Mara Brock Akil) is the political side; Harambee, held in early winter quarter is cultural, and Spring Concert is more social, bringing Black students a reason to celebrate the ending of another year. In the past FMO has brought artists such as Ludacris and Jhene Aiko to the concert so when they decided to join forces with A&O this year, artist selection was central. “Working with A&O gave us a bigger reach and the availability to bring the concert to new heights,” says Chambers. Director of Concerts Ben Shear also said the collaboration allowed A&O to fulfill its mission to work with as many other student groups on campus as possible. For example, this year A&O worked with NU Hillel to bring Broad City stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer to campus earlier this winter. Shear reported that combining Spring Concert and BALL was the perfect opportunity to expand A&O’s relationships with other groups even more. You can see Rae Sremmurd at BALL at The Riviera Theatre in downtown Chicago next Friday April 29. Tickets are $10 and go on sale April 21 on the Norris Box Office website. While the opener will be announced at a later date, both FMO and A&O says the event will be based on something simple and well-accepted: fun. And with this artist, Chambers knows they’ve made the right decision. “They’re really known for bringing the good turn up that we’ll need in the midst of exams.”      

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