The Young Gunz, stopped by the Student Union Friday night as part of a promotional tour for their upcoming debut album, Tough Luv, in stores Feb. 24. Christopher Ries and Hanif Muhammad, or Chris and Neef, the fellas that comprise the Young Gunz signed posters and promotional CDs for a diverse crowd of UConn students.
Most people, such as 4th-semester political science and sociology major Keisha Williams, found out about their appearance through word-of-mouth.
"We found out the WISAO auction a couple weeks ago and then today, when people started IM-ing me on AOL Instant Messenger," Williams said.
Fourth-semester psychology major Stacy Taylor said she also found out by instant messenger and decided to come check it out.
"I like their new song with Rell," Taylor said, adding "They were nice," when she got their autographs.
National director of promotions for Roc-a-Fella records Ant Lava it was important to the duo to have the support of students.
"We're out here just trying to show some love to the young people because they [the Young Gunz] are young themselves," Ant Lava said.
Neef seconded this sentiment, saying "we're trying to come to every school, high schools and other colleges. We got a lot of love here from UConn."
Ant Lava also made a point about how diverse the crowd was, being comprised of all nationalities and people who one would not normally expect to be into rap.
"This is not just a hip-hop crowd," he said.
Chris said they have been working on the upcoming album for about two years, but that they have some old songs they are still using. The 20-year-old pair has been rapping together since junior highschool, Chris said, so they have a lot of material to work with.
The young rappers signed with Roc-A-Fella four years ago, and have made appearances on several songs, as well as the State Property release Chain Gang Vol. II. Their hit single "No Better Love," off Tough Luv set the group up for huge success.
"Young Gunz is the future of rap," said the group's assistant, Wayno.
Ant Lava continued to compare them to Outkast, saying the success of their first single and their original sound made them "the new Outkast." While their music was clearly the main feature, the two also excited a lot of attention from the women in the crowd. Second-semester undecided major Hannah Roncallo said she gave them her phone number, and others appeared to do the same. Don't worry ladies, the guys are single.
"We're bachelors," Neef said.
Aside from Tough Luv, Young Gunz are already working on their second album, touring and more promotions. Manager Hasan said they are lining up a busy tour schedule with Kanye West, Juelz Santana, Cassidy, T.I., Young Bloodz and will be participating in the Roc-the-Mic II tour.
The event was brought to UConn by Raj Tadeja, 9th semester psychology and business major, who is currently interning with Roc-A-Fella. Daniel Gil, 8th semester Spanish and Latino Media Studies, also had a hand in bringing the Young Gunz to UConn. It was sponsored by UConn's WHUS Radio and the Lambda Theta Phi Latin fraternity.
Be the first to comment on this article!