This year’s Spring Concert lineup hosts a variety of artists from unique backgrounds. No two are the same; from a rising Nigerian superstar to an EDM group that has stayed popular since the early 2000s, all of the artists have their own stories to tell and have accomplished amazing things. Read on to learn more about the artists coming to UMass on May 1!
2K2FLY
Kat Lopez and Katya Taylor have earned their spot as this year’s student openers after coming in first place at this year’s ‘UMass Got Talent’ talent show. Katya Taylor is a senior BFA dance major who dances and directs for DBJ Dance Crew in the Five College area and HUSH Crew in Boston, MA. She is a traveling dance educator who has been invited to teach at events, including KCON Convention in New York, and a dance media creator. Kat Lopez is a sophomore majoring in both Dance and Psychology. Kat started her dance journey at 10 years old and is now part of a Team Leggoo, a pre-professional Hip Hop group in Connecticut, as well as actively training in New York City. She is also a proud member of both Soul Sistas and HASA dance team here on campus. Kat and Katya are ambitious and passionate individuals who are always eager to step foot into new styles. Their goal is to perform around the world while inspiring many on their dance journey.
The Homies
A rising hip-hop group out of Louisville, Kentucky, The Homies got their start as a part of music collective “Private Garden,” which consists of Jack Harlow, The Homies, photographer Urban Wyatt, and writer and producer Nemo Achida. The group of four, Quiiso, Shloob, Ace Pro, and 2forwOyNE, are well-known friends of Harlow, who was a founding member of the music collective, and featured Harlow on two songs: ‘Leaf Wraps’ and their most popular song, ‘White Lies’. Because Harlow and The Homies have been friends since high school, it only makes sense that they’ve had influence over each others’ music styles; 2forwOyNE in particular collaborated with Harlow for many years helping produce his earliest mixtapes. The group is known for producing all their music in-house, proven by the two albums and multiple singles they have released. Their latest album, ‘Honest Living’, features 10 songs that are all accredited to members of the group. The Homies are a part of the growing hip-hop scene in Kentucky, and they hope their growth can help open doors for greater music diversity in their home state.
Cash Cash
Although you might not know them by name, you definitely know songs that Cash Cash has produced. Since 2002, the group has been creating remixes of famous songs by Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, and Kelly Clarkson, while also releasing their own EDM singles with familiar names like Bebe Rexha, Lukas Graham, and Christina Perri. Their most popular songs are ‘Take Me Home’ featuring Bebe Rexha, ‘All My Love’ featuring Connor Maynard, and ‘Matches’ featuring ROZES. They were also featured on P!NK’s chart-topping single, ‘Can We Pretend’. The trio didn’t always have the success they’ve come to have; brothers Jean Paul Makhlouf and Alex Makhlouf, along with close friend Samuel Frisch, formed their DJ group in their hometown of Roseland, New Jersey, under the name ‘The Consequence’. After undergoing legal battles related to copyright issues of their name, the group decided to officially change their name to Cash Cash, since “everyone was after their money but they didn’t have any yet,” according to an interview by Insomniac. Since then, the group has mixed and mastered five full-length albums, plus EPs and singles, and has also performed at a number of music festivals. Their latest remix was of AJR’s ‘Way Less Sad,’ and their newest single is ‘‘Ride or Die’ featuring Phoebe Ryan. Most recently, the trio released their first acoustic-style album, ‘Acoustic Collection (Vol. 1)’, a change from their normal style of music. With a steady 5.5M monthly listeners on Spotify, the group is only expected to grow and release more EDM jams (and hopefully release ‘Acoustic Collection (Vol. 2)’)!
Tems
26-year-old Temilade Openiyi spent most of her childhood in the UK before she moved back to Nigeria at 11 years old. Once in Nigeria, she found herself lonely and isolated, and decided to channel those feelings into writing poetry. That eventually evolved into writing songs, and today, Tems is one of the few known women producers in Nigeria. She produced every song on her first album, ‘For Broken Ears’, and she recently released her newest EP, ‘If Orange Was A Place’, which houses the song ‘Found’ featuring Brent Faiyaz. That’s not the only success she’s had recently; she was featured on Wizkid’s song ‘Essence’ with Justin Bieber and Drake’s album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ in the song ‘Fountains’, which gave her a new audience and lots of positive exposure. In an interview with The Guardian, Tems hinted at possibly collaborating with Drake again in the future, among other future goals. Tems is actively shaping alternative music in Nigeria with her R&B and neo-soul hits, and it seems like she can only go up from here.
Jack Harlow
Jack Harlow is quickly becoming a household name. From writing songs at 12 years old with his Guitar Hero microphone to starting his music collective Private Garden to gaining more than 47M listeners on Spotify, it’s clear to see that the 23-year-old is far from slowing down. He released his earliest mixtape, ‘Extra Credit’, in middle school under the name “Mr. Harlow”. Once he reached high school, it wasn’t long before he released his first EP, ‘The Handsome Harlow’, under his real name. Soon he was playing sold-out shows and even opened for Vince Staples at his show in Louisville, Kentucky, Jack’s hometown. Jack has achieved so much in the span of his career so far; his first album, ‘That’s What They All Say,’ debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 albums chart. His most popular song, ‘What’s Poppin’, was nominated for a Grammy award in 2021, and was released as a remix featuring Dababy, Tory Lanez, and Lil Wayne. He was also featured in Lil Nas X’s hit, ‘Industry Baby’, which boosted him further into fame. Most recently he released his song, ‘First Class’, in preparation for the release of his next album, “Come Home the Kids Miss You,” on May 6, 2022. His inspirations include Drake, Johnny Cash, Outkast, and Eminem, according to NoCap Live.
We are so excited to see all of these performers at UMass on May 1, 2022! If you want to see the show, it’s not too late to grab your tickets at linktr.ee/umassupc
Sources:
https://nocapshows.com/bios/jack-harlow/
https://www.insomniac.com/music/artists/cash-cash/
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/27/tems-temilade-openiyi-interview-drake
