B.o.B. gets Pitt students to raise their shades

Atlanta-based rapper B.o.B attests to having “the magic in him,” and for Pitt Program… Atlanta-based rapper B.o.B attests to having “the magic in him,” and for Pitt Program Council’s annual concert, he delivered just that.

On Saturday night B.o.B took the stage of the Fitzgerald Field House with local Atlanta rapper Playboy Tre and winners of WPTS’ hip-hop battle, The One Twos. Students flooded the field house with B.o.B paraphernalia as well as homemade shirts with phrases such as: “Pitt loves B.o.B,” and “Take me on stage please.”

The opening act, Pitt-based hip-hop group The One Twos, delivered an energy-infused opening act wfull of well-delivered punch lines and production similar to The Neptunes. The One Twos set a relatively high bar for the main act to live up to.

Fortunately for the crowd that packed the Fitzgerald Field House — tickets were $5 — the main act delivered heartily. B.o.B jumped on stage full of energy and asked the audience if they were familiar with his most recent mixtape No Genre — most of the crowd had never heard of it.

“That’s all right. Y’all about to find out,” B.o.B said as he jumped right into the bass-heavy “Beast Mode,” infecting the audience with an electric vibe as crowd-surfers emerged and dancing commenced.

After effectively giving a cardio workout to every student in attendance, B.o.B slowed it down and asked the audience for a pair of shades. One lucky girl in the front row appeared on the giant screen as she handed B.o.B her pair of red sunglasses.

“How many of y’all got shades right now. Bring ’em out!” B.o.B said as he performed the first verse of “Past My Shades,” in a cappella.

Soon he was in full force and the energy level in the crowd returned to 100 percent as people raised their various brands of sunglasses in the air. By this point in the show, it was Playboy Tre’s turn to show the audience what he could do.

He gave the crowd a taste of real southern rap sound with the trunk-banging “Bet I.” By the end of the song, B.o.B had strapped up his guitar and was ready to slow things down with “Don’t Let Me Fall.”

Toward the end of the concert, B.o.B opened the floor for suggestions. ”What y’all want me to play next?” he asked as he turned the microphone toward the audience.

A collective chant of “Airplanes,” was generated from the front of the crowd, and one student in the back made the customary rock-concert request for “Freebird,” to no avail.

After what seemed like the end of the show, B.o.B returned to stage and performed “Magic,” with characteristic charm as members of the audience danced and jumped on command.

Altogether, B.o.B put on a decidedly high-octane performance that everyone from die-hard fans to pop-music haters could enjoy.