On Saturday, April 23, Flo Milli and special guests Tkay Maidza and Réne Ortiz will perform at a concert in Barton Hall, presented by the Cornell Concert Commission and the Multicultural Funding Advisory Board. The concert will be open to the Cornell community and general public.
The Cornell Concert commission and the Multicultural Funding Advisory Board are responsible for organizing and hosting concerts on campus, working with various artists to provide entertainment for the campus community.
Miles Greenblatt ’22, executive director of the Concert Commission, took part in the decision of which artists to attempt to host, described Flo Milli as an exciting young rapper that many students were incredibly interested in seeing perform. Greenblatt said that students from the Concert commission Multicultural Funding Advisory Board, and other organizations across campus have been asking for Flo Milli to come to campus for over a year.
“It is also always important to us to bring artists that represent a wide variety of students,” Greenblatt said. “Early on, all of our in-person hip-hop shows have featured male rappers, [so] this was an excellent opportunity to bring an artist that is exciting to a lot of students, and to have Black women both headlining and opening a CCC hip-hop show for the first time in over a decade.”.
The planning process for the concert began in the beginning of the school year, when the Concert Commission and the Multicultural Funding Advisory Board worked together to pick possible dates for the show.
The organizations invited Cornell students to suggest possible artists to welcome onto campus. Students were then given the choice to Greenblatt added that these processes were open to everyone in the Cornell community, which resulted in an overwhelming amount of feedback.
“Our selection surveys go out to our Listserv of over 1,000, and we regularly receive hundreds of responses from students,” Greenblatt said.
The final decision, based on the student suggestions on which artists to host, was made by executive board members of the Concert commission and the Multicultural Funding Advisory Board.
Students across campus have chattered excitedly in anticipation for the opportunity to see Flo Milli, especially considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the live music industry.
“This is my first real concert since COVID,” said Jolene Tsang ’24. “These fun campus events are so important to build community. I think it’s a good way to bring together so many different people who wouldn’t normally get to see each other. It is also a great way to take a break from the stress of class.”
Bianca Kaplan ’24, a member of the Cornell Concert Commission, is looking forward to seeing Flo Milli and has been listening to her music since high school.
“Her music is pretty upbeat and fun to listen to,” Kaplan added. “I’m excited to see her perform live. She has a pretty big online personality.”
Rachel VanderVen ’24 added that she thinks that campus-wide events such as this concert foster a sense of community among Cornellians.
“It’s important to see your peers in spaces besides lecture halls,” she said. “I think it invites a sense of belonging that will stay with us after we graduate.”
Greenblatt said that he thinks Flo Milli has the potential to be one of the biggest rappers in the world. He also noted that the Multicultural Funding Advisory Board has picked acts that have gone on to become majorly successful later.
“In 2019, the Multicultural Funding Advisory Board brought Doja Cat to perform in Risley Hall and now she is headlining major festivals,” Greenblatt said. “They know how to pick great acts, and I think they’ve done it again.”