Rapper D.R.A.M. to headline SPEC-TRUM fall concert

Rapper D.R.A.M. will headline SPEC-TRUM’s fall concert.

He is set to release a new album Friday, just days ahead of the Oct. 26 concert at Penn, in which he will perform alongside openers Princess Nokia and Rob $tone.

The choice, once made, was unquestionable, members of SPEC-TRUM said.

“You can’t really go anywhere without hearing [his songs]...‘Broccoli’ and ‘Cha Cha,’” SPEC-TRUM co-director and College senior Stephanie Hodges said. “D.R.A.M has a really good stage presence and a great positive vibe to his music,” she added.

SPEC-TRUM co-director and College senior Jonathan Muruako described the artist’s music as “very positive and popular.”

The song “Broccoli” recently reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

SPEC-TRUM, a branch of Penn’s Social Planning and Events Committee, has a mission to act as an inclusive space for all students at Penn, focusing in particular on the minority groups present at the University. Wharton senior and co-director of SPEC-TRUM Olivia Nelson said the choice of artist was motivated by their objective to provide “an inclusive space for minorities.”

SPEC-TRUM’s office on the second floor of Houston Hall is busier than ever with just over a week until the concert. Hodges described planning for the concert as “a very involved process,” adding “We have to have plan B, C, D, E, F.” The intensive preparation for the concert has paid off with the organization bagging one of the up and coming artists of this year, D.R.A.M.”

Last year, SPEC-TRUM was forced to cancel its spring concert the day of and refund students for the tickets after both artists canceled.

The concert will take place at the Rotunda on 40th and Walnut streets, a space Muruako described as “intimate.” She added that D.R.A.M.’s on-stage energy “will definitely be seen in the audience.”

Ticket sales began on Monday Oct. 17 on Locust Walk and online. Prices are $10 for Penn students and $15 for the general public.