And what is going on with HBCU homecoming concert lineups this year?
On September 26, Hampton students gathered in the campus’ student center for the unveiling of their 2025 homecoming lineup. After some time of music and dancing to hype up the crowd’s energy, the lineup was finally revealed: Skilla Baby, Vickeelo, Zeddy Will, Cash Cobain, and KCamp. All good artists but this year’s line up was still met with mixed reactions. Some believed our lineup was a step up from last year, where only two artists, Muni Long and Bossman DLow (then later Rob49 after Bossman DLow couldn’t make it), were announced. Others feel like this year’s lineup was still a little lackluster.
My theory? Hampton University’s lineup, among other HBCU lineups, is a reflection of our current music scene, which is overrun by TikTok stars. And the responses to these lineups is a reflection of how we view these artists. TikTok stars now dominate the music industry, and with this new revelation came transformations in music production, performance, and marketing.
With TikTok’s growing popularity, ordinary people are granted a chance in the spotlight, regardless of whether or not they have the traditional musical training of Beyoncé or Britney Spears. Many of today’s artists started out in their rooms before being put on stage, so there hasn’t been much time to improve their stage presence or vocality. Plenty of music’s newest artists launched their careers on TikTok, sharing one minute snippets of their songs and hoping it would garner enough views to go viral. These artists typically upload the catchy chorus of their song and the algorithm does the rest of the work. PinkPantheress, Lil Nas X, and, well, Hampton University’s entire 2025 homecoming lineup are a few examples. Now, this does not negate their talent but they lose some of the formal training that made our legends who they are today.
Let’s take Victoria Monet for an example. Many listeners may have been introduced to her through TikTok with the debut of her hit, “On My Mama”, but Monet has been in the industry well before her viral hit. The singer was mostly known for her incredible songwriting credits on various Ariana Grande songs, and for the pairs’ close relationship. Monet saw some success in her own musical career as a singer when she released, “Ready,” in 2018 on her EP called, “Life After Love, Pt. 2.” But, it wasn’t until her 2020 EP, “Jaguar”, that Monet started receiving proper recognition for her own music.
Victoria Monet is an example of an artist who has had the formal musical training before being in the spotlight. She’s had years of experience in the music industry and as a result, her stage presence and music production are undeniably captivating. Coco Jones, Teyana Taylor, and Sabrina Carpenter are more examples of artists who had formal musical and performance training before going viral on TikTok.
This is what many of our artists are lacking today.
It’s not that people don’t know the artists they are getting for their homecoming lineups, because they do, whether they used their songs for the background of their TikTok video or they listen to them in their free time. The lack of excitement in their response to these artists performing at their homecoming is due to the absence of star potential in their performance or identity as an artist. What sets them apart from their peers? Most of the TikTok artists rely on the virality of their song to hype up the crowd and neglect putting forth any effort to actually perform. However, I will give credit where credit is due and acknowledge that Skilla Baby has worked with the multi-talented Teyana Taylor, who served as a choreographer for one of his performances, to improve his stage presence. But, what else do Hamptonians and other HBCU students have to look forward to at their homecoming concert?
I think the response would have been different if someone like Megan Thee Stallion or Lil Yachty had been announced as performers because students know that they will be entertained as those artists are known to put on lively performances.
Still, I think this year’s concert will be fun! Each artist has an exciting discography and will no doubt have the crowd on their feet the entire night, wishing they had worn better shoes.