As the first all-female rap crew, Grammy Award-winning superstars Salt-N-Pepa have carved out a reputation as one of the most popular rap duos of the 1990s. They bring their sass, style and dance-worthy hits to Kresge Auditorium in a throwback show that also features rapper Tone Lōc, best known for his hits “Wild Thing” and “Funky Cold Medina.”
Salt-N-Pepa
The pop-rap divas Salt-N-Pepa, consisting of Cheryl James (“Salt”), Sandra Denton (“Pepa”) and originally Latoya Hanson, who was replaced by Deidra Roper (“DJ Spinderella”), formed in 1985 as one of the first all-female rap groups, winning the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “None of Your Business.”
The group broke down a number of doors for women in hip-hop. They were also one of the first rap artists to cross over into the pop mainstream, laying the groundwork for the music’s widespread acceptance in the early ’90s. Salt-N-Pepa were more pop-oriented than many of their contemporaries, since their songs were primarily party and love anthems, driven by big beats and interlaced with vaguely pro-feminist lyrics that seemed more powerful when delivered by the charismatic and sexy trio. With songs like “Push It” and “Shake Your Thang,” Salt-N-Pepa defied expectations and became one of the few hip-hop artists to develop a long-term career. The trio had major hits in both the ’80s and ’90s, with “Shoop” and “Whatta Man” driving their third album, “Very Necessary,” into the Top Ten.
Tone Lōc
Nominated for three Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, rapper Tone Lōc is arguably best known for his deep voice and his million-selling hit songs “Wild Thing” and “Funky Cold Medina.”
An occasional actor, he has performed in several feature films, including The Adventures of Ford Fairlane and Posse. Tone Lōc is also a voice actor, having voiced characters in TV cartoon series such as King of the Hill and C-Bear and Jamal, and he voiced the character The Goanna in the 1992 movie FernGully: The Last Rainforest.
Hit-maker, song-writer and musical sensation Gavin DeGraw comes to Kresge Auditorium with a playlist of his chart-topping hits that highlight his trademark contemporary sound and soulful lyrics. DeGraw brings a sly wisdom to his infectious songs like “I Don’t Want To Be,” “She Sets the City on Fire” and others, setting him apart from others in the genre. For fans of current music, thoughtfully intelligent lyrics and hard-rocking songs, this is a performance not to be missed.
Gavin DeGraw is a multi-platinum selling singer, performer and songwriter. He first broke through with the 2003 release of his debut album, Chariot, which sold over 1 million copies, earned platinum certification, and yielded three hit singles: “I Don’t Want To Be,” “Follow Through,” and the title-track, “Chariot.” Gavin’s self-titled second album debuted at No. 1 on the digital sales chart and at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart in 2008, earning Gavin his first Top 10 album. It spawned the hit singles “In Love With A Girl,” which Billboard dubbed “a rocking homerun,” and the gold-certified “We Belong Together.” In 2009, Gavin released Free as a gift to his die-hard fans clamoring for recorded versions of Gavin’s live favorites. His third studio album, Sweeter, was released in September 2011 and produced the smash single, “Not Over You,” co-written with OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder. The track reached #1 on the Hot AC charts, was a top 10 hit on Top 40, and was certified double platinum. In 2013 DeGraw released his fourth studio album, Make A Move, which included the hit song “Best I Ever Had,” and garnered rave reviews from such publications as Billboard, People and Entertainment Weekly amongst many others.
One of its generation’s most compelling string ensembles, the Grammy-nominated Enso String Quartet brings its mastery and music to Corson Auditorium. The quartet has been described by Strad magazine as “thrilling,” and praised by the Washington Post for its “glorious sonorities.” This gifted quartet has won top prizes at the Concert Artists Guild competition and the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and is, in the words of Classical Voice, “one of the eminent string quartets of our era.”
The Enso’s members are all drawn to the string quartet repertoire because of its richness and diversity, and the ensemble is committed to exploring the four corners of that repertoire. The Enso regularly performs the classics of the string quartet literature, but also champions lesser-known works that deserve to be heard, along with much contemporary music, including works the Enso has commissioned. The ensemble also performs its own transcriptions, including arrangements of 16th-Century Renaissance music. “The quartet’s ability to present music of three completely different idioms so persuasively puts it in the running for the mantle of Quartet of the Future”(Palm Beach ArtsPaper). World premieres this season include commissioned works by New Zealander Alex Taylor and Australian Brenton Broadstock, and in recent seasons they have premiered quartets written for them by Dame Gillian Whitehead, Kurt Stallmann and Paul Moravec. The Enso also gave the world premiere of Joan Tower’s Dumbarton Quintet, with the composer at the keyboard.
August 14, 2017 – 8:00pm
Ticket price(s):All Seats $29.50
One of its generation’s most compelling string ensembles, the Grammy-nominated Enso String Quartet brings its mastery and music to Corson Auditorium. The quartet has been described by Strad magazine as “thrilling,” and praised by the Washington Post for its “glorious sonorities.” This gifted quartet has won top prizes at the Concert Artists Guild competition and the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and is, in the words of Classical Voice, “one of the eminent string quartets of our era.”
The Enso’s members are all drawn to the string quartet repertoire because of its richness and diversity, and the ensemble is committed to exploring the four corners of that repertoire. The Enso regularly performs the classics of the string quartet literature, but also champions lesser-known works that deserve to be heard, along with much contemporary music, including works the Enso has commissioned. The ensemble also performs its own transcriptions, including arrangements of 16th-Century Renaissance music. “The quartet’s ability to present music of three completely different idioms so persuasively puts it in the running for the mantle of Quartet of the Future”(Palm Beach ArtsPaper). World premieres this season include commissioned works by New Zealander Alex Taylor and Australian Brenton Broadstock, and in recent seasons they have premiered quartets written for them by Dame Gillian Whitehead, Kurt Stallmann and Paul Moravec. The Enso also gave the world premiere of Joan Tower’s Dumbarton Quintet, with the composer at the keyboard.
August 16, 2017 – 8:00pm
Ticket price(s):All Seats $29.50
