Is it far-fetched to believe that Cat’s Cradle would host rapper Waka Flocka Flame for three days? For the several hundred who attended, going is now a distant memory — logged somewhere between serendipity and some unexplainable desire to scream rap lyrics made popular almost half a decade ago.
Even less surprising than the appearance of Waka Flocka Flame was that each of his three shows sold out relatively quickly, causing a great deal of confusion and an underground market for buying and selling concert tickets. Though Waka Flocka Flame’s coming seemingly came out of nowhere, the performer was able to draw a large and diverse crowd.
More interesting than Waka’s presence was the way in which the crowd moved and interacted with each other. Rap concerts do not necessarily warrant an environment conducive to interpersonal violence, that is the harmful interactions between two or more people, yet many attendees described their experience as such.
Not all rap is meant to be experienced with a lot of motion, screaming or vulgarity. Waka Flocka Flame and similar rap concerts are not representative of all rap concerts, but a certain genre of rap and such shows will bring out a certain type of crowd and create a certain type of environment. Waka’s performance created an atmosphere of pandemonium, havoc and commotion. Every detail of his show seemed to intensify one or all three. From the ticket sales to the uncertain start time, the crowd flowed in and out of a state of chaos.
It is important to remember the many ways our bodies move throughout space and how easily our actions can be misinterpreted or read as domineering or encroaching upon others. We should carry with us how black men and women are read as threatening even at concerts where the headliner is also black or a person of color.
How is it that we are mindful of our hands and limbs when we are in intimate settings of two or three people, but we are dismayed by the influence of a large crowd? Disillusioned to the point we resort to violence without consequence.
Editorials like these are not meant to come across as prescriptive, particularly this is not an opinion against typical rambunctiousness or enjoyment of music concerts. But, consider not only your own safety, but the physical and mental safety of those around you. Buying a concert ticket does not equal consent to being touched just as purchasing dinner for a romantic intrest does not equal consent to sex.
It’s imperative we consider, then reconsider, how are bodies move in space — at concerts, inside our classrooms or when in a close and personal setting with a friend. We must be cognizant, otherwise we are allowing our bodies to become complicit entities of interpersonal violence. Yes, move and sway with the crowd but don’t force yourself. Keep your head on and importantly ‘do it with no hands.’
