Last Saturday, the sounds of polyrhythmic trap beats exploded through the humid air hovering over the Memorial Union Terrace. As lightning flashed in the clouds on the opposite shore, Lord of the Fly and CRASHprez jumped across the stage to screams of “Brick squad!” and “Turn up!” Excessive air horns blared from *hitmayng’s computer as adults who just wanted to spend a quiet night on the Terrace began to stare in awe. It was an intimately rowdy time. It was the 8th annual Snake on the Lake Fest, a festival organized by WSUM 91.7, the University of Wisconsin’s licensed student radio station.
Chicago-based Dada x Oppi kicked off the set with their soulful take on hip-hop. It was Dada x Oppi’s second show as a duo, and the two had a charming chemistry onstage. The duo touched on social topics, urging the audience to “save these kids out this crazy world,” and jumping into a call-and-response of “New America.” Dada, rapping in his soulful tenor, closed his eyes as he screamed out, “I sold my soul for this street life.” As their set drew to a close, the two smiled and said their thanks before joining the crowd in anticipation for the next act.
After an energetic introduction from emcee Eric Wiig, Lord of the Fly and CRASHprez took the stage, bringing with them their hard-hitting trap beats and gut-busting stage chemistry.
“If you love your grandmother make some noise,” CRASHprez shouted. As he jumped into his remix of “Versace,” the crowd in front of the stage jumped up and down like a group of coked-out hamsters. Lord of the Fly, initially told not to jump into the crowd, asked the audience, “Turn down for what?” And into the crowd he jumped.
The duo handed off verses with expert precision, rapping over beats from TNGHT and *hitmayng, who stood behind his computer, occasionally interjecting humorous one-liners in a high-pitched voice. The DJ joined the two rappers for their last song. The set came to a close with a hilarious call-and-response between the three guys onstage and the crowd: “Say CRASH fucking prez!” “CRASH fucking prez!” “Say *hit fucking mayng!” “Calm down.”
After the energetic second set, Psymun & K.Raydio took the stage. Hailing from Minneapolis and a graduate of the UW-Madison, K.Raydio crooned, “I got that moonshine/ It’s heavy on my mind,” while Psymun laid out hazy, glitch-filled beats akin to Burial’s. K.Raydio’s smoky voice mixed like syrup with Psymun’s dense, foggy beats and resulted in a lush, sultry atmosphere — the perfect contrast to the acts preceding her.
“I’m making turn down the new turn up,” she said. Between songs, she’d burst into smile, thanking the crowd for what she said was one of the best shows of her life. She told stories of her time at UW and how she wrote her first song on the Terrace. She continued spitting her dense, introspective lyrics: “Left a message in the bathroom mirror with my lipstick.” Towards the end of her set, she giggled and said, “Y’all are really fun.” After her set, Psymun played Kanye West’s “Bound 2.” The crowd began soulfully rapping as all the artists joined onstage, embracing and socializing. It was the perfect cap to a beautiful night.
