On Thursday, April 24, PennWest California’s Student Activities Board (SAB) hosted its annual spring concert, with New York rapper Dimitri Leslie Roger, professionally known as Rich the Kid, as the featured performer.

The show opened with a DJ battle between two PennWest Cal students: Ryan Zimmerman, a senior commercial music technology major (DJ Pinky), and Isaac Sharpeta, a junior mechatronics engineering major (DJ Sharpeta). Each DJ was given 15 minutes to perform.

Following them, DJ Rocco Magone took the stage with friends DJ J Smooth (JJ Robinson) and DJ Whole Wheatz (Braxton Turner) for their turn to hype up the crowd.

Rich the Kid’s DJ, his longtime partner professionally known as Tori Brixx, began her set around 9:15. She played about a half hour of upbeat hits to get the crowd ready for the headliner.

Rich the Kid burst onto the stage rapping “New Freezer”, his original song featuring Kendrick Lamar. The audience was dancing and singing along for most of his set, and Rich had incredible stage presence. He was full of energy, constantly moving and interacting with the audience.

Brixx instructed the crowd to bring out their phone flashlights at times to add to the upbeat atmosphere. After rapping to his hits like “Splashin’”, “Bankroll”, and “Daddy”, the audience lit up with his verse on Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s song “Carnival”, also featuring Playboi Carti.

Rich the Kid ended his concert with his 2018 hit “Plug Walk”. The audience loved this one, with most people waving their hands or phones to the beat.

After the music, several students who received “VIP Access” badges had the opportunity to meet the rapper and get a picture. The overall feeling throughout the concert, though in a smaller venue than in years past, was very positive.