Young Nudy will be featured at the first Carolina Productions' Cockstock experience since 2019, bringing back the event for 2021's Homecoming: "Around the World: Destination UofSC."
Before 2020, Cockstock was an annual concert put on during Homecoming week for USC students. For those who haven't been before, Cockstock, a play on words combining Woodstock and Gamecock, is put on by the Cockstock Committee. The Cockstock Committee is made up of Carolina Productions, the Homecoming Commission, Student Government, the Association of African American Students (AAAS), Brothers of Nubian Descent and the Residence Hall Association. Each organization plays a significant role in the preparations for Cockstock.
This year celebrated the event's return with a small patio event and an announcement on the group's Instagram on Sept. 14, which presented Young Nudy as the featured artist for the upcoming concert.
Young Nudy is an American rapper best known for his mixtapes Slimeball, Slimeball 2 and Slimeball 3. He has performed at many music festivals, including Rolling Loud.
The concert will be free for students, faculty and staff with a valid CarolinaCard. In the past, the main difference between the two years was the issue of funding. Before this year, it was typically only for students, so a perk for the event is that faculty and staff can now attend for free. The last Cockstock had tickets priced at $10 for students and $20 for guests.
Carolina Productions' main goal is to provide free entertainment for all students. It achieved its goal of providing Young Nudy's performance for free by effective funding and skillful planning.
Nathan Rhyne, a third-year sports entertainment management student and head of the Cockstock concert project for Carolina Productions, said this planning includes effective marketing, reaching out to the artist's teams and offering negotiations, even to the small details such as ordering portable toilets.
Cockstock Homecoming Concert will be Oct. 15 at Strom Intramural Fields from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., and doors will open at 7 p.m. Participants are asked to adhere to the clear bag policy and to not bring blankets or any outside food or drink.
In 2020, the Cockstock event was canceled, as COVID-19 precautions prevented it from having a usable space.
"Since the university has, for the most part, had no restrictions outside, now that there is mask mandates, we are starting to work around that now," Rhyne said.
Rhyne said this year, the committee will continue to follow university and CDC mandates.
Rhyne said the team reached out to other universities to figure out what those schools are doing to prevent COVID-19 spread while holding a performance.
"Yes, we want to have a lot of people and have fun, but we also want to keep everyone safe," Rhyne said.
The student organizations have a complicated decision-making process for who will perform. The artist selection starts with a list of available performers. The next step is polling within the different organizations of the committee and the general student body.
In the concluding decision steps, many artists were on the list, but the final choice came down to Big Latto and Young Nudy.
Destini Robinson, president of the AAAS, said multiple inconclusive polls went on until a debate was held during a meeting over whether which artist would put on the best performance. Young Nudy took the win, and thus the slot for Cockstock artist.
"He is the type of artist that, even if you don’t know the music, he's going to get you hype. It’s going to be crunk. It’s just going to be lit, that’s the word for it,” Robinson said.
Many Carolina students, especially sophomores who experienced a tough freshman year, are excited to have Cockstock back this year.
Ty'Asia Green is an ambassador for the Leadership and Service Center and a second-year biology student. One of her main jobs is to encourage other students to be involved, but her first year hindered her own involvement due to COVID-19. She said she's excited for this year and the activities, such as Cockstock, that are coming with it.
"We can actually get out and socialize with our other peers,” Green said.