Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 10/13/09 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: Richard Marks/Greyhound Maino turned his life around by focusing on music after spending time in prison.

Hip-hop music proved to be respected by all races, colors, ethnicities and genders this past Friday in Reitz Arena in front of 1,200 spectators. With a sold-out performance by rapper Lupe Fiasco headlining the fall concert last year, many students like myself wondered if a double-headline act of rappers Maino and Fabolous could promote hip-hop at a Jesuit school in an ideal fashion.

When one thinks of Maino, one sees a muscular thug with a razor blade scar extending from his lip almost to his ear. Maino is, in fact, a thug by nature. Everything is in his lyrics and he did a bid in jail; however, Maino represents the fact that people can make a change for the good. St. Ignatius Loyola turned his life over to God after having his leg amputated due to a cannon ball shot, and Maino turned his life over to music as he did his time in prison.

Even though it should be about the music, whether one places an emphasis on lyrics, beats, or whatever, Maino's thug-like attitude had many of the students running up to his promotional table before the concert started begging to take posters, pleading with Event Services staff to meet him, or posing with the almost life-sized posters.

But the mood of the entire Reitz Arena began to change when the lights were dimmed.

Maino's figure on stage demanded the crowd's presence as the DJ played a song with Akon on the hook singing, "You gon' remember my name." Loyola would be able to remember his name as he put on for his city representing Brooklyn every chance he could get.

Now readers, most of Loyola's population comes from Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and the New England region of the country, but when Maino shouted Brooklyn on stage, I could've sworn I thought I was in the heart of Flatbush with hands swinging in the air.

As Maino said hi to his haters, the crowd waved goodbye to their haters. Not to hate though, I don't think Maino got the memo that he was performing in Maryland. He made it rain with bills that had his face on it.
"You can only spend that in Brooklyn," he said. Well, we go to school in Baltimore and the Maino currency hasn't caught up with the U.S. dollar. (I'm not even going to mention the Euro.)

Continued...

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