Up-and-coming rapper Flo Milli recently paid a visit to Vanderbilt’s campus, but Vanderbilt students did not welcome her with the respect and praise she deserves. In fact, she hardly received a welcome at all. Not only was the turnout at her show shockingly low, people didn’t know she was having a concert on campus at all. As someone who had been counting down the days until her performance, I was shocked. Where was everyone? How could this be the way Vanderbilt welcomes Flo Milli? And how could this be the turnout for a Homecoming event?
So, what happened? From my experience, the turnout for Flo Milli’s performance was uncharacteristically low. I’ve been to several concerts hosted by Vanderbilt, and none have ever had so few people in attendance. Similar to events like Lights on the Lawn or Rites of Spring, I expected a dense crowd, especially at the front of the stage. However, when I got to the venue for Flo Milli, it was a ghost town. At other Vanderbilt concerts, I have never been able to see the front of the stage, let alone be able to walk right up to it as I did at Flo Milli. Although I expect events like Rites of Spring to have higher turnouts, this was ridiculous. At Rites, there are more artists, and it attracts more people from the broader Nashville community. But Two Friends’ performance at Lights on the Lawn pulled a similar crowd to Rites despite not having the same popularity. Moreover, this was a Homecoming event organized by Vanderbilt Programming Board (VPB), which is also responsible for both Rites of Spring and Lights on the Lawn. All of these events were advertised in the same way, so why was there such a staggering difference in the number of people who attended Rites of Spring and Lights on the Lawn compared to the Homecoming event?
Obviously, it could have been that people just didn’t know about it. However, I would argue that people simply weren’t paying attention. I saw posters with Flo Milli’s face on them everywhere—in Rand, in Stevenson, in my own dorm’s staircase. I walked past those posters every day for weeks before the concert, and I got an email probably every five minutes reminding me to buy my tickets. VPB tabled at Rand and people had the nerve to walk by and ask why they were playing Flo Milli. At that point, I don’t think you can say people didn’t know about it. People knew and they chose not to go. Why is that?
Firstly, it was Thursday. I know plenty of people who had too much work or simply did not want to go out on a weekday. However, I’ve also been in college long enough to know that Thursday does not stop people from going out, so this was definitely not the main reason.
Secondly, people could have just not been interested in Flo Milli or her music. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and no one is obligated to attend her concert. The problem with this reason is that it’s just not accurate; people are interested in her. They recognize her music outside of Rand, and they know her songs. Sure, some people only know her verses on TikTok, but I’ve gone to concerts knowing less. I went to Two Friends having never even heard of the group, and does anyone know a Waka Flocka Flame song that isn’t “No Hands”?
So there are reasons that Flo Milli’s turnout was so low, but they are not reflective of her—they are problems in the Vanderbilt community. The bigger issue at Vanderbilt is students repeatedly failing to branch out of their circle. Sororities and fraternities tend to stick to themselves; they designate floors of residence halls to live on, most of the events they attend are date parties and events hosted by their respective Greek houses, and they organize trips for only other brothers or sisters to go on. These are characteristics of not only Greek organizations, but of many other organizations on campus as well. There’s nothing wrong with community; the problem arises when people confine themselves to these people. Especially among Greek life, these communities tend to be homogenous and they make little effort to expand or connect with the larger Vanderbilt community. If no one among these smaller groups on campus shows interest in events outside of their immediate circle, then large numbers of people miss out on opportunities because these groups only associate with each other. These are the large numbers of people that Flo Milli deserved to see, yet didn’t. Despite knowing her and enjoying her music outside Rand, so many people decided they were not interested. This is not because they simply don’t like her; it’s because they are too caught up in their own limited social circles.
Especially at a predominantly White institution, students must actually make an effort to broaden their minds and as a result, their experiences. Too often people write off amazing opportunities because they are unfamiliar with them, and too often Black women end up as the victims of this. Few people take Black female rappers seriously, and although this problem is not exclusive to Vanderbilt, it should not be so prominent here at Vanderbilt that a Homecoming event could have so few people in attendance.
Our responsibility as Vanderbilt students is to protect and support each other, and this includes supporting each other’s interests and communities. To support Black women on campus, we needed to support Flo Milli, and we failed. Vanderbilt had the opportunity to show a talented Black female artist the love and support of a huge community, but by staying too attached to our respective campus groups, we failed. We failed her, and we failed all the future up-and-coming artists that Vanderbilt would invite. When Flo Milli is too big to entertain gigs at Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt students will wonder how we could have ever afforded to host her, just as students now look back on past performers like Kendrick Lamar, Megan Thee Stallion, and SZA. Those who let their ignorance stop them from attending will be ashamed.
Vanderbilt can do better, and it must.