If anyone was wondering where the
freshmen were on Thursday night, here?s the answer: Hordes of intoxicated
undergrads got down at Memorial Union with the Ying Yang Twins, whose explosive
show was sponsored by the Wisconsin Union Directorate?s Music Committee.
Opening acts included local rap duo
Fall Guys and DJ Kid Cut Up, who spun overplayed hip-hop hits for an hour-and-a-half
while concertgoers began to wonder if the Ying Yang Twins were even going to
make an appearance.
But D-Roc and Kaine
arrived around 11 p.m., opening the show with their 2000 single ?Whistle While
You Twurk.? In recent years, the Atlanta-based duo has made a name for itself in
the genre of crunk rap, which features angry and excited-sounding lyrics,
hoarse chants and repetitive beats.
Next, the Ying Yang Twins performed
their single ?Get Low? while the pulsating crowd pointed to the window and the
wall during the song?s infamous chorus. ?Say I Yi Yi? paired grinding beats
with a chorus that could have been sung by a 5-year-old; this type of onomatopoeia
is common in their lyrics, along with the terms ?crunk,? ?twurk? and ?Get low.?
Most songs also revolve around favorite pastimes of smoking, driving around
and, of course, women.
?I know it?s a lot of y?all big
talkin?,? Kaine declared as the sparse beats of ?Wait (The Whisper Song)?
filled the hall. He called the song ?nasty music? ? so nasty, in fact, the duo
performed an edited version of the track. In an effort not to disappoint,
however, the Twins held their microphones to the audience for the infamous
whispered chorus.
Finally, they performed the banging
club hit ?Drop,? a single from the new album The Ying to The Yang, which will be released this spring. ?This is
my shit!? Kaine yelled as he started headbanging to a sample of ?Whoa Black
Betty,? which is featured in their single ?Dangerous.?
The show?s energy hit a wall,
however, after the Ying Yang Twins finished all of their recognizable music and
began to simply pace the stage while their DJ played several radio hits. The
low point of the show was ? no pun intended ? when they played Flo Rida?s
?Low,? shouting lyrics sporadically while Kaine disappeared mysteriously for
several minutes. At this point, concertgoers began to leave by the dozens ? they
could easily throw a dance party at home and not get carded.
Whoever said white men can?t dance
had a point, and the Ying Yang Twins seemed to draw great pleasure from
inviting awkward and inebriated fans onstage and watching them try to dance.
?Before we go, I wanna see some of
y?all get crunk,? Kaine said, and the crowd followed. The Ying Yang Twins used
the resulting on-stage commotion to make an inconspicuous exit, slipping off
the stage and out of the Great Hall before too many fans noticed.
Although the Ying Yang Twins began their
show with a promising ? though delayed ?bang, their energy quickly dissolved,
and the second half of their set was disappointing.
