Smino walked toward the microphone in a white tank top and backward St. Louis Cardinals Hat and began freestyling. He told the audience that they’ll have to get used to virtual concerts because of the coronavirus pandemic and jumped into singing his track “Fronto Isley.”

Syracuse University students, faculty and staff on Saturday night watched rapper Smino perform a virtual concert, which University Union organized and hosted on YouTube as part of SU’s Welcome Week festivities. The entire concert was pre-recorded, according to Annelise Hackett, UU public relations director.

Smino, a 28-year-old rapper from St. Louis, performed eight of his songs in a 30-minute set. At the end of his performance, he excited the audience with his silky-smooth voice on tracks like “Z4L” and “Wild Irish Roses.”

The first half of the concert trickled by as Smino grew comfortable performing in a small room filled with a Mortal Kombat arcade machine. A projector streamed the animated shows “Naruto” and “The Boondocks” on the wall behind the artist.

Right before each song, the screen would go black to announce the title of the upcoming track.

After he performed his song “Coupe Se’ Yern,” he shouted out the fans who supported him when he was releasing music on SoundCloud early in his career.

“Only real Smino fans know this song,” he said.

Throughout Smino’s set, he reminded those watching that he wished he could perform in-person. He hoped everyone was staying safe in quarantine and “getting their elderberries,” Smino’s version of wishing everybody to stay healthy.

“Syracuse, I think I played a show out there before. I’m excited to come back,” Smino said, a smile stretching across his face after he performed “SPINZ.” He later danced while performing his 2018 song “KLINK.”

Just like the Kaytranada concert UU organized in May, the audience could interact with one another in a chat room. As Smino introduced the song “Z4L” and began singing, a flurry of heart emojis and excited comments filled the chat room.

One audience member even commented that they watched the show just to see how the production would work, but now they were leaving the concert a Smino fan. Others commented on how much they loved Smino’s outfit.

Smino ended the concert with a moment of silence. A collage of photos of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd filled the screen alongside a list of names of Black men and women who have died due to police brutality.

“Remember to trust your team and always believe in yourself,” Smino said before he left the screen. “I wish I could do this in-person.”

Published on August 23, 2020 at 12:06 pm

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