Mr. Boombastic says he has an angel, but it wasn’t him. Shaggy might have made his hit songs in the early 2000s, but he’s making a comeback right here at Williams. He recently released a new song “Seasons” featuring OMI and seems to be thriving once again with his iconic Jamaican-American reggae pop fusion style. This fact doesn’t seem to make a difference to some Williams students, but others are seriously hyped about his performance.
Spring Fling is one of the only times in the year when our small Liberal Arts adopts some faint similarity to a big university school for a night.
EDM rave lights wash over the Field House, and the majority of the students come out of the woodwork (aka Schow and Sawyer library) to participate in the fun and celebrate the coming of “spring” in New England. The night starts off slow. As people gradually make their way from their respective pre-games, the crowd gets bigger and the opening act gets some love. This year, the opening act is Jerreau. His most well-known song being “Really Got It” which was the Cleveland Cavs’ 2016 NBA finals anthem.
Spring Fling at Williams tends to have a polarizing effect among the student body every year. It’s pretty much close to impossible that we will ever reach a unanimous campus-wide liking for the main performer. Nevertheless, it’s an exciting night that many people put a lot of work into setting up and organizing. Last year, the main act was a no-show, but DJ pair White Panda overcompensated by giving a killer performance that was one of the most fun nights of my life. As evident of last year, the event is bound to give a good showing and be worth going, no matter who the main act is going to be.
This year, Shaggy is going to be the main act. On a good note, as of now, there’s no last minute cancellation in sight. There are two sides to the Shaggy coin here. Perhaps you may have heard from both on your own terms, but if not, the general feeling on campus has been mixed. Here’s what some students have said:
“I’m excited about shaggy coming to campus! I think it’ll be a fun concert full of throwbacks. It would’ve been nice to have an up and coming artist such as oddisee or Gold Link because then the music would be hype and fresh and williams would feel like we discovered something new.”
–Frankie Eluhu ‘19
“I am really excited about shaggy. The two songs I know will make the night incredible. I hope people go because there are a lot of mixed reviews about shaggy. But the people who are excited, are passionate so I look forward to dancing with those fun loving people. It’s going to be boombastic, just like mr. Fantastic. If I could choose anyone, it would be anyone on the Coachella lineup. That kind of music gets people hyped and would probably make more people go to Spring Fling. But also our school isn’t a massive party school, so it would be hard to get them I feel like.”
–Alex Newton ‘20
“I’m so excited to have Shaggy for Spring Fling! I think that in the past we’ve had EDM artists, so switching it up this year will be a nice change. Everyone knows his hit “it wasn’t me” but I’ve been listening to his spotify this week and he has some other low key bangers! ACE does such a great job setting up the field house so to see the stage and lights and entire setup should be really cool. I’m also pumped to see our opener Jerreau because it sounds like he’s a really up-and-coming rapper.”
–Elizabeth Cromack ‘18
“Who is Shaggy? I only know Scooby. [At the concert], people will be sweaty and I will wonder whether they took something or are just hot because the room is stuff. Some freshman is bound to get caught up in the excitement and take it too far. Whoever Shaggy is, will probably cancel like Torey Lanez did.”
–Iman Dervisevic ‘19
“I’m excited for the opportunity to have a good time with friends. I don’t know who Shaggy is, but I wish we had someone who was more well known among the whole student body. I expect to have a fun time no matter what.”
–Anonymous ‘18
“I’ve been studying up on some of Shaggy’s and Jerreau’s repertoire, and I am surprisingly impressed by how catchy “Seasons” and “Really got it” are. I’ll definitely be dancing to those two when they come on.”
–Anonymous ‘19
“I am planning to go to the Spring Fling and think it will be a good time, but I’m somewhat disappointed that Williams couldn’t get a more well-known, current artist.”
–Anonymous ‘19
There seems to be no in between here. Williams students either think Shaggy has been completely under the radar for the past 17 years or he’s the designated fresh throwback guy of the 2000s. Tonight’s concert will tell if Shaggy has been working hard on his music or if modern music has outpaced the charm of his old school hits.