An upcoming performance at North Carolina A&T featuring Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane is drawing criticism from students and faculty members.
Gucci will be performing with artists Fabolous, Trey Songz, Keri Hilson and OJ Da Juiceman.
According to the News & Record, students have been complaining to officials about Gucci’s alleged gang ties and the reflection his appearance could have on the school.
“We are reviewing our options right now,” Chancellor Harold Martin said yesterday (September 30.) “We are trying to determine if this artist can be replaced under the existing contract, how that would be done, what the fiscal result would be.”
Reports stated that some students are divided over picking a socially conscious artist as opposed to choosing an artist who may draw a large following.
“This is frankly exactly the kind of intellectual debate we should be having at this university,” Martin said. “It is important, and it raises the intellectual climate when we ask these difficult questions about our community.”
Officials with the school said the concert will continue as scheduled on October 31, since contracts have been signed – and 6,000 tickets have been sold.
Gucci Mane’s prison stints – including one for a murder charge that was eventually dropped – almost derailed his recording career.
The rapper is currently featured on the remix to Mariah Carey’s#### single “Obsessed” and Mario’s track “Break Up.”
