In recent years, acts like Khalid, Post Malone and Lil Wayne have all taken the Ryan Center stage, but this year belongs to A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie who is set to perform on April 25.
The selection by Platinum Entertainment Group has proven to be a popular one among students who are looking forward to hearing one of the top artists in the industry.
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Artist Julius Dubose, better known as A Boogie, is a Bronx, New York native and has risen to the top of the rap scene in recent years.
A Boogie rose to fame when he received instant success with his first mixtape “Artist.” Released under his own label named after his hometown, “High Bridge the Label,” the Bronx native quickly gained the attention of a lot of high profile rappers including Drake. Drake liked the up-and-coming rapper so much that Drake had him open for himself and Future at a concert in 2016 at Madison Square Garden in front of Boogie’s hometown.
“Artist” is what helped A Boogie bust on the scene, and for good reason. Originally released as a mixtape, “Artist” includes songs that even today are still some of A Boogies best work. Songs like “My Sh*t,” “Friend Zone,” ”Still Think About You” and my personal favorite “Jungle,” helped boost A Boogies career. “My Sh*t” was even able to crack the Billboard Top 100 as it peaked at number 86 in early 2017. Although “Artist” isn’t A Boogie’s best piece of work, it is still worth a listen.
After his first mixtape, A Boogie signed with Atlantic Records and it was time for his debut album. Most artists debut album are good, but not great, and don’t showcase the whole arsenal of talent. Someone forgot to tell A Boogie that because when “The Bigger Artist” was released in late September of 2017, it was a true piece of art including five Billboard Top 100 songs and the album stayed on the Billboard Top 200 for 44 weeks, peaking at number four.
“The Bigger Artist” is my favorite album from A Boogie as it has a number of terrific songs headlined by the two singles released months before the album “Drowning” and “Say A.” “Drowning” was the first single off the album and featured another up-and-coming rapper, Kodak Black. The song went three times platinum and peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100. It remains his most streamed song on Spotify as it has amassed 346,684,384 plays.
The rest of the album is no slouch either including features by the likes of Chris Brown, 21 Savage, PnB Rock, Trey Songz and more. “The Bigger Artist” is, in my opinion, his best piece of work to date. Must listen songs on the album include “Stalking You,” “No Comparison,” and “No Promises.”
Two years after releasing “The Bigger Artist,” A Boogie dropped his much anticipated second studio album this year titled “Hoodie SZN.” The album topped the Billboard 200 and stayed at number one for three weeks running. The album has been on the charts for 15 weeks.
In “Hoodie SZN,” A Boogie continues to do what he does best. The absolute must listens on this album are “Look Back at It,” “Startender,” and “Demons and Angels.” “Swervin” is also a very popular one.
A Boogie has a great selection of music and is only going upwards. The concert is Thursday, April 25 at the Ryan Center. Tickets can still be purchased online or at the Ryan Center box office.