Rap acts Yelawolf, Slaughterhouse perform for 450 in Plachta, Eminem nowhere to be seen
Although Eminem did not make a surprise appearance as rumored, about 450 attendants bounced enthusiastically to the hip hop of Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse Friday night.
The doors to the concert at Warriner Hall's Plachta Auditorium were scheduled to open at 7:30 p.m. Concert sponsor Plus One Entertainment postponed the show and did not open the doors until 8:08 p.m. The crowd began to get restless, chanting "Open up!" for about a minute.
“I wanted to make sure I’m in the front row,” said Port Huron junior Cody Bawol, who was the first person in line in the Warriner lobby and waited more than 3 hours to get into Plachta. “I’m kind of pumped they came here to CMU.”
The two acts were both recently signed to Eminem’s label Shady Records, and the night before their show in Plachta, Eminem joined Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse on stage in Royal Oak for an encore of their collaboration “2.0 Boys.” Rumors spread rapidly, unchecked by Plus One and others involved, that the same would happen at Central Michigan University.
“(My friend) said Eminem was going to be here and we went and bought tickets,” said Pinckney sophomore Sarah Deitert.
Despite disappointment from Eminem’s absence, fans gave strong reactions to rapper Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse, a group consisting of veteran rappers Joe Budden, Crooked I and Joell Ortiz, and Detroit rapper Royce da 5’9”.
Yelawolf performed for about 40 minutes and Slaughterhouse followed with a performance of more than an hour.
“I did a huge college tour with Wiz Khalifa," Yelawolf said in an interview before the show. "(College students) just want to have fun. I can’t wait to get out there.”
Yelawolf said he was coming off the emotional high of performing with Slaughterhouse and Eminem the night before.
“First night onstage with Slaughterhouse and Eminem? That was epic," he said. "That was a pivotal point in my career. It was special, man.”
Onstage, Royce da 5'9" said driving only two hours from Detroit for a show made him feel at home.
“It feels so good to be here,” said Royce as he first took the stage.
Mark Garland, a CMU alumnus from Clarkston, was impressed by the concert.
“I thought it was great. I think Mount Pleasant should be more active in hip hop,” Garland said. “I’ve been following Yelawolf for a while. He’s got an original style. It’s nice that he’s getting some recognition, now that he’s signed to Shady.”
Garland said although he would have liked to see Eminem, he was excited that Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse showed up, and speculated that if both acts came to CMU a year from now, they could sell out McGuirk Arena.
“I’m a little disappointed, just because why wouldn’t you want to see Eminem?” Garland said. “It was still big to get Slaughterhouse.”
Gary Crafton, owner of Plus One Entertainment, said he enjoyed the show as a fan of hip hop, but had hoped for a better turnout.
“Other than it being a weak turnout, I thought the show was great,” Crafton said. “The energy was great. The guys put on a good show.”
