Photos by Steven Ospina Delgado
I still remember the eruption of cheers at the Sal Vulcano show when it was announced that Flo Rida and Fetty Wap would be performing at Brookfest. It was louder than any laughs Vulcano received at his best.
Despite Flo Rida being the headliner, most people were seemingly more excited to see melodic rapper Fetty Wap — making it one of his first performances in years. With rap hits such as “Trap Queen,” “My Way” and “679” carrying much of Gen Z’s summers, it’s no surprise that tickets sold out within minutes as fans rushed to relive the 2010s.
“I was super excited for Fetty Wap, I’ve been a fan since 2016,” said concertgoer Ananya Bhat. “Me and my brother growing up definitely loved Fetty Wap.”
If you heard the screams from outside the arena when the Remy Boyz — a rap duo consisting of Fetty Wap and Monty — took the stage, you’d think there was a murder unfolding inside.
The duo’s energy was electric to say the least; the synergy they presented while singing and dancing to “RGF Island,” alternating sides and demanding more spirit from the crowd, gave me butterflies despite the fact I vaguely knew the song. Though, I didn’t recognize the one after that, or the one after that, or… the one after that.
The crowd howled at the mere presence of Fetty Wap and Monty, but with each song they played, the more the cheers dampened and the less people danced. What was once an electric crowd had lost its charge.
I spoke to a couple of concertgoers after Brookfest, many of whom said they didn’t recognize the first couple of songs. Fetty Wap’s set first consisted of songs from his 2015 album, Fetty Wap. While the album does contain some of his best-selling hits, he made sure to begin his set with lesser known tracks, such as “Jugg” and “Couple Bands.”
Tauhidor shared his experience with me as we walked through a sticky pit littered with popcorn and cups after the show. “Initially, we were all excited when he came out to the stage,”Tauhidor, who was near the barricade, said. “But the crowd didn’t really know the opening songs.”
The crowd’s unfamiliarity made for a cringeworthy moment. Fetty Wap asked the crowd if they wanted to hear songs from his newest album, Zavier. Not only was the crowd stagnant, I heard the faintest of boos.
Fetty Wap received the dullness with a half smile.
But once the synth melody of “My Way” blared through the arena, I prepared my unplugged ears for an animated second half. No amount of preparation — or probably even ear protection — could’ve prepared me for the crowd’s energy.
Instantly, the crowd exploded. “Baby won’t you come my way?” Such a simple sequence of words united Stony Brook in a way I’ve never seen. By this point, Fetty Wap was playing all the hits you remember from 2016.
Fetty Wap was the opener for what USG was highlighting as the main dish: Flo Rida.
At the time of the Brookfest announcement, I was confused. Flo Rida’s name was familiar to me, but I could never picture him above Fetty Wap. My same sentiment was reflected on the audience, with the cheers he received not being nearly as thunderous as the one’s Fetty Wap got.
Just a couple of songs into Flo Rida’s sets however, I found the early 2000s awakening inside me. Even though I had deemed myself unfamiliar with Flo Rida, I recognized many of the lyrics. “You spin my head right round,” “Apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur,” “Oh, oh, sometimes, I get a good feeling.”
Concertgoer Lance Schroeder put it best: “I didn’t realize how many Flo Rida songs I knew.”
Many concertgoers shared the same sentiment, everyone knew the songs, but many people had no idea Flo Rida was the man behind them.
Flo Rida was accompanied by IMG Allstars, a rap trio. The chemistry between IMG Allstars and Flo Rida fiercely contended that of Fetty Wap and Monty’s. But by the end of the night, more people were jumping to Flo Rida’s “My House” than any of Fetty Wap’s songs.
Flo Rida had the hits, but they were no more than filler when considering his interaction with the crowd. Whether it be throwing paper bills and flowers at the crowd, piggy backing through the arena or inviting students on stage, Flo Rida kicked the arena into overdrive, and he didn’t pump the brakes once.
Shanell Rollon, a USG member, was one of the excited members invited onto the stage to dance to Flo Rida’s “Low.” After being pulled out towards the front of the stage, a frightened look washed over her face, she was now at the foreground of an effervescent crowd. But with seemingly just a second of a thought, as the song entails, she hit the floor and she got low.
“I was shocked he grabbed my arm and pulled me out.” Shanell shared with me, running on pure adrenaline and awe. “It was f—-ing crazy.”
While Flo Rida mainly invited ladies to the stage, for his performance of “GDFR,” the men had a time to shine. One was Isaac Theodore, who took his shirt off midway through the song. The last thing Theodore expected was Flo Rida’s jacket to be put around his back while the crowd shrieked in pure excitement.
“I didn’t even know what happened, man. I felt the power of Flo running through me, baby,” Theodore said moments after exiting the stage. “[The energy] was beautiful, brother. Unmatchable.”
Whether students came to Brookfest looking to scream the lyrics to “Trap Queen” or hoping for a shot of twerking on stage to Flo Rida’s “Low,” the night united Stony Brook through pure music and energy. Even though most students I spoke to shared with me they came in for Fetty wap, many left humming hits they didn’t even know Flo Rida wrote.
“He went bleacher to bleacher, that’s tough to top,” concertgoer Aidan Palanca said. “He wasn’t there just to get paid, he was there for everyone to have a good time.”
Palanca said he loved both performances, with Fetty Wap’s bangers and Flo Rida’s eccentricity making the night unforgettable.
“Brookfest 2027, you gotta be here.”
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