Shwayze is bringing warm Malibu vibes to Penn State at 8 tonight in Heritage Hall at the HUB-Robeson Center through the Student Programming Association.
Rapper Shwayze began his career in 2008 with the release of his self-titled album featuring songs that quickly became party hits, like “Buzzin,” “Polaroid” and “Corona and Lime.”
His slower beats, laid back style of rap delivery and open lyrics about having a good time and staying out to party on the beach put him on the map musically to collaborate with other party artists, like The Cataracs and LMFAO.
Early this month, Shwayze released a five-song EP titled, “Shwayzed and Confused” that has accumulated a four and a half star rating on iTunes.
Steve Carney has been a fan of Shwayze’s music and has been jamming to Shwayze’s new track “Love is Overrated.”
“I remember seeing him and Cisco on the MTV show and I just loved his laid-back personality and became drawn to his music,” Carney (junior-accounting) said.
Shwayze hasn’t preformed on the University Park campus before, but opened for LMFAO in 2009 when they preformed in downtown State College at what was formerly “The Cell Block” — the building now home to Levels Nightclub.
Crystal Seth, local rapper who recently did a music video with Bubba Sparxxx and toured with the likes of 2 Chainz this summer, is opening for Shwayze tonight and is excited to share some new material from an upcoming project “District XXIII.”
“I think Shwayze and I reach the same type of demographic,” Seth Goldsmith (senior-telecommuniations) said. “Shwayze is coming out all the way from the West Coast and I think coming to Penn State is a good mix for him.”
With lyrics like, “Love is overrated, I don’t wanna take my time, Cause that gets complicated, And you get so jaded, Please don’t think we dating,” college students navigating the dating life have a way of relating to Shwayze’s material against casual beats.
Heather Maggi, entertainment chair for SPA, said the committee voted on Shwayze and he was a good fit since they hadn’t brought in a rapper this semester.
Shwayze’s lyrics about recreational drug use and long nights of partying are more risqué in comparison to previous pop acts brought by SPA, like Karmin who are more PG-rated.
“It’s hard to restrict artists based on lyrics,” Maggi (senior-film and video) said. “If that was the case we couldn’t bring a lot of people and we just want to give people the opportunity to enjoy [Shwayze’s] music soberly.”
Megan Mansell, marketing chair of SPA, said that while handing out flyers for Shwayze on campus and downtown, people seemed to be pretty happy about SPA’s artist choice for this concert.
This no-ticket event is free to Penn State students who will be let into the venue on a first-come, first-served basis.
To e-mail reporter: kfg5033@psu.edu
