Uzi Madness: Lil Uzi Pushed This Year’s Late Night Madness to the Edge

by The Cowl Editor on October 19, 2017


Arts & Entertainment


Lil Uzi performing at the "Rolling Loud" festival
Photo courtesy of cheers.ws

by Catherine Goldberg ’20

A&E Staff

It was an exciting and eventful night at Providence College as students packed the Peterson Recreation Center to see the rising star Lil Uzi Vert perform at this year’s Late Night Madness concert.

Symere Woods, also known as Lil Uzi Vert, has rose to fame in the past year. At only 23, he has become a huge influence towards young people, in part because of his refusal to conform and marginalize. His unique persona and carefree lyrics have drawn many college students to love him as an artist and performer.

When PC released the news that he would be this year’s Late Night Madness guest performer, all you could hear playing from the windows of students’ dorms were the hit songs of Lil Uzi.

The dim lights, crammed bodies, and students’ racing pulses lifted school spirits high, while, the anticipation of Uzi’s performance was even higher. Uzi’s DJ was able to set the stage by playing classic hip hop jams to get PC students ready for the main event.

Finally, around 10 p.m., Uzi took the stage. Though small in stature, his ability to take over the concert venue cannot be denied. His risky fashion choices and different colored dreds truly brought the youth of Providence to embrace him as an icon.

Diehard Uzi fans were thrilled to hear him play some of his new music off of the Luv Is Rage 2 album released this year. The official single off the album From Philadelphia, “The Way Life Goes,” was a huge crowd pleaser. The Philadelphia rapper also performed some of his popular mainstream hits and dancing jams including “Do What I Want” and “Money Longer.”

“XO Tour Llif3” was arguably his best and most enthralling performance. The hit jam was labeled the “Song of the Summer” this year at the 2017 MTV Music Awards and on campus, the song has truly become an anthem for students. Each time he sang the chorus, students roared the most well known lyrics, “Push me to the edge, all my friends are dead.”

Marie Sweeney ’20 loved the “good vibes of the night” and “the overall atmosphere.” Although she found it “disappointing that he took so long to come onto the stage, it was altogether a great performance.” Another Uzi fan, John Kramer ‘20 described the night as “one of his favorite PC experiences.”

Uzi closed his performance with his signature shoulder shrug. He shouted to students to “keep it going,” and as the spotlight dimmed, PC students continued to chant his empowering lyrics. Students of all ages left Peterson feeling inspired, excited, and closer as a community.

In the past, PC has brought in a wide range of celebrities to either MC or perform at Late Night Madness, including Nick Cannon, Big Sean, Ludacris, and Shaq. However, Lil Uzi Vert has “pushed them to the edge” with this year’s exhilarating performance.