Bone Thugs, Girl Talk coming to Santa Clara

By Katie Powers

Get ready for a party.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Girl Talk are coming to Leavey Center on Feb. 20, sponsored by the Activities Programming Board.

Coury Jacob, music manager for APB, booked the show.

"It's pretty tough to choose bands at Santa Clara because we have an interesting and very unique style of musical preferences," he said.

But with the combination of hip hop legend Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and dance party king Girl Talk, music lovers of all different genres will be pleased with the selection.

Jacob began his search for performers in June, and spent the summer and fall preparing requests for artists. APB had made requests to some performers who declined, but Jacob is more than pleased with Bone Thugs and Girl Talk.

"Out of the options we had, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Girl Talk were our first choices," said Jacob. The contract was made official on Monday.

The Grammy Award-winning trio Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, made up of Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone and Wish Bone, is a group of fast-paced Midwestern rappers who became popular in the '90s. The group's latest album, "Strength and Loyalty," released in May, has recently gone gold, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Jacob said Bone Thugs were appealing because they are living hip hop legends.

"If you look in textbooks about music, they are cited as coming out with this unique harmonizing rhyme scheme that was unique in the '90s and since has never been duplicated," he said. "With the release of their new album in the past year they are back on the radar, but at the same time, they are still old-school rappers with deep-seated roots and respected rhymes," said Jacob.

Bone Thugs' "Strength and Loyalty" offers the quickness of their older work in tracks like "Flow Motion," as well as a refined delicacy reminiscent of their time-honored hit "Tha Crossroads." The trio even mirrors the mashup genre in "Wind Blow," as they rap over Fleetwood Mac's classic, "The Chain."

No one can claim the mashup genre, though, like underground sensation Girl Talk, who will perform before Bone Thugs. In the spirit of underground music, Jacob wanted to give students a chance to be exposed to music they might not be able to hear otherwise.

Girl Talk, mastermind DJ Gregg Gillis, spearheaded a newfound genre of mashup music. Gillis mixes tracks from a diverse variety of genres that somehow meld into an adrenaline-filled continuous party.

Gillis' latest album, "Night Ripper," released in 2006, features tracks that combine the essence of both slow-grinding thug beats and hip-to-be-squared indie satire. With his graceful mixing, Gillis combines Neutral Milk Hotel with the Ying Yang Twins, James Taylor over Ludacris and the Pixies twisted with Young Gunz into something everyone can dance to.

"I have been to four of his shows, and each and every one gets better," said Jacob. "It's probably the most fun I've had at a lot of concerts."

Girl Talk should also appeal to a wide variety of music fans.

"Because he is the master of mashups, it's not one set genre. People from all musical spectrums will appreciate what he can bring to the table," said Jacob.

Fans of dance, pop and rap all might be surprised at how much they enjoy the entire concert.

"Most people who listen to Bone Thugs don't listen to Girl Talk, and most people who listen to Girl Talk don't listen to Bone Thugs," said Jacob. "I wanted to bring two similar but unique genres together so we can all be at this concert and have fun, regardless of musical preference."

The show will also feature an opening act for the two headliners called Jupiter Rising. Jacob said the electric pop duo from Southern California will be appealing to more mainstream pop music fans.

Tickets go on sale Monday in Benson. Student tickets are $18 for general admission and $14-$15 for balcony seats.

Contact Katie Powers at (408) 551-1918 or krpowers@scu.edu.