Student Government Productions is kicking off the semester and Black History Month with a concert from rapper Roddy Ricch and singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun on Feb. 8.
The concert, which is for UF students only, will be held at the O’Connell Center at 7 p.m. and was announced through social media posts along with an update to the student government website. Doors to the event will open at 6 p.m.
Tickets will go on sale at noon on Jan. 25 and can only be purchased at gate one of the O’Connell Center during normal sale hours of noon to 5 p.m. Tickets will not be sold digitally.
General admission tickets will cost $10, and floor seats are $15, which will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. Students can buy up to two tickets with a valid Gator 1 Card, which will also be scanned upon entry to the concert. No outside guests will be allowed entry.
SGP, an agency of student government, organizes free and reduced entertainment events for students. In the past, they have hosted concerts from BROCKHAMPTON, Deb Never, Gunna and Neon Trees.
“I think students are ecstatic,” Student Body President Cooper Brown wrote in an email. “Students deserve to be hyped about it. It's going to be a great event.”
Students must be cleared for campus in order to attend, according to SG’s website and page on the event, and follow UF’s COVID-19 safety procedures with masks expected indoors.
It is unclear how much the artists will be paid for this event. The Alligator has submitted a public records request for the artists’ contract.
BROCKHAMPTON and Deb Never were paid $250,000 and $15,000 respectively to perform Aug. 23. SGP operates on a fiscal budget of $825,000.
Boasting more than 21 million monthly Spotify listeners and 6.6 million Instagram followers, Ricch is not the first high-profile rap artist to visit Gainesville for a SG-sponsored event. During the Fall semester, Gunna performed for Homecoming and in 2020, Tory Lanez performed during Black History Month.
Oladokun has authored folk-and-R&B-inspired albums such as “in defense of my own happiness” and in July of 2020, she was selected as Billboard Pride’s artist of the month.
“SGP wanted to provide a rap/hip-hop concert and chose Roddy Ricch to perform because of his popularity amongst students and recent album release,” SGP Chairman Jake Siegel wrote in an email. “We have worked tirelessly to bring this event to life and are confident students will be treated to an amazing concert!”
People with disabilities requesting accommodations should contact sgaccomodationservices@ufsa.ufl.edu or call 711 at least 72 hours prior to the event, according to SG’s website.
Contact Maia Botek mbotek@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @BotekMaia.
Maia Botek is a third-year journalism major and Spanish minor covering student government this semester. Maia is from South Florida and enjoys the beach, spending time with her friends and learning about the environment in her free time.
