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fter a mere 20 minutes, J.I.D’s show Saturday at Ithaca College’s Campus Center was cut short when an Ithaca College police officer took the stage and informed the rowdy crowd that the venue’s floor was cracking due to the audience’s synchronized jumping.
Following performances from DJ Raw and Yung Baby Tate, J.I.D took the stage and captivated the audience. He played songs off of DiCaprio 2 and his debut album The Never Story including “Hereditary,” “Underwear,” “Westbrook” and “Slick Talk.”
During J.I.D’s performance of “Slick Talk,” the floor began noticeably flexing as the crowd jumped. It quickly became apparent that what many saw as hype was actually potential danger. The officer announcing that the structural integrity of the building had been comprised was immediately met with boos. J.I.D attempted to quiet the crowd, but many had already begun either running for their lives or jumping even harder.
In an attempt to keep the concert going, J.I.D suggested performing in the middle of a mosh pit to redistribute the weight. The officer agreed, allowing the show to proceed under the assumption that the audience would cease its jumping.
The East Atlanta rapper was in disbelief: “So you want people at a J.I.D show not to jump?”
@JIDsv broke the damn ceiling 😭🔥 pic.twitter.com/GzAQAOObg4
— ☾ (@telllthemoon) February 10, 2019
J.I.D, riding on the back of his security guard, made his way into the crowd. Knowing his show probably wouldn’t last long, J.I.D dropped “Off Deez,” his breakthrough song which features fellow Dreamville artist J. Cole.
Despite a valiant effort, Ithaca College Public Safety staff were unable to stop the jumping and, in turn, ended the performance. No injuries were reported and the concert hall was quickly cleared.
Ithaca College sophomore Julia Corcoran posted a video to the Overheard at IC Facebook group in which the floor below the venue can be seen flexing. She told The Sun in a message that there were no students below the venue when the damages became noticeable.
We put cracks in the ceiling and almost broke the Floor at Ithaca tonight lmfao
One for the books🔥🔥
— (J.I.D) (@JIDsv) February 10, 2019
“The windows in the pub were vibrating, then the lights started squeaking behind us, and we looked and the room was shaking,” she wrote. “It went on for over an hour before the cops decided it was a problem and started taking videos of it.”
The Ithaca College Bureau of Concerts, promoters of the event, said that they had not even known that the flexing of the floor was possible.
Ithaca College initially closed the Campus Center, including Emerson Suites and the IC Square food court, but said in a statement late on Sunday that the areas would be open Monday for normal operations.
The statement said two separate engineering firms inspected the area and determined the damage was “only cosmetic in nature.”
“At the concert in Emerson Suites, a number of audience members began dancing by jumping in unison,” the statement read. “The movement resulted in some visible flexing of the floor and corresponding flexing of the ceiling in the IC Square food court one level below. Some sheet rock in the IC Square ceiling also cracked, and small pieces of it fell to the floor.”
This article has been updated to include a statement from Ithaca College regarding damage to the IC Campus Center.
Peter Buonanno is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. He currently serves as the assistant arts editor on The Sun’s editorial board. He can be reached at [email protected].