written by: Amani Liggett
Renowned hip-hop artist Drake is scheduled to perform a sold-out show at UC Davis’ Pavilion on March 7th. While student discount tickets are advertised for selling at $49.50, many students and non-students alike have parted with $100-$200 to snag tickets for this popular performer’s Club Paradise tour. Drake will be playing songs from his latest album Take Care, with opening acts from Kendrick Lamar and A$AP ROCKY.
Both general admin floor ($79.75) and upper level ($59.75) tickets have already sold out.
Many students considering themselves big hip-hop fans scrambled for the former, higher priced standing option. Unfortunately for Davis students, the student discount was offered for the upper level seats only, which let’s face it, is a little less glamorous.
For those desperate to see the popular Canadian recording artist, there are still tickets available from scalpers online on websites such as StubHub and TicketsMore. The prices for these are considerably higher; an upper-level ticket going for around $130, while a standing floor ticket going as high as $350. The UC Davis Pavilion emphasizes that those who seek tickets from these sites buy at their own risk.
Despite this, student’s excitement about the performance seems to be over ruling
any sore feelings about high prices. Post-UCD grad Maral Pirinjian offered the reasoning that “I love Drake so much, I didn’t even care that it was $100 for the ticket.”
An understandable explanation when looking at Drake’s popularity and history working with other big-name hip-hop artists like Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Eminem, and Jay-Z. Drake has also been nominated for several Grammy awards, and was a main performer at the 2010 Grammy awards. Other UC Davis students commented on Drake’s acting work on the pre-teen show Degrassi in 2001 as reason to why he has such a loyal fan base.
In addition to making his own music, Drake has also written for other artists in the industry such as Alicia Keys, Jamie Foxx, and Mary J. Blige. He also tends to feature or remix tracks that he has written for other artists such as Unthinkable Remix by Alicia Keys. Drake and Lil Wayne have both also written for Dr. Dre together.
The last big name hip-hop performer to grace the UCD campus was Snoop Dogg, for a Valentines Day show last year at Freeborn Hall. Similarly, students threw down big bucks for last minute tickets to see the artist.
Drake’s performance in Davis starts at 8pm, and it is recommended to get there early.