Tom McKiver/The Mirror
On a typical Sunday night, most students convene in the library as they prep themselves for the strenuous week ahead. However, this past Sunday night, rap groups The Dean’s List and OnCue performed at Toad’s Place in New Haven, Conn. for a night that will be remembered by all who attended.
Toad’s Place, a very well-known music hall, has been identified as the place “where the legends play” since 1975.
Multiple concerts take place every week- mainly on weeknights- where up-and-coming artists have the ability to perform, with the guarantee of receiving a relatively intimate, but lively crowd.
The Pledge To Rage Tour, presented by Nue Agency and Good Music All Day, began in early September, featuring The Dean’s List and OnCue. Both of these rap groups direct their style towards “college music” and undoubtedly have the ability to pump up a crowd of people.
The Dean’s List is a rap group based out of Boston, MA, composed of Sonny Shotz (songwriter/rapper), DJ Mendoza (production editor), and Mik Beats (production/mixing engineer).
The group is becoming increasingly popular among college students and for The Dean’s List, as DJ Mendoza stated, “the dorm room is where it all started.” However, since their “dorm room days,” The Dean’s List has created two mixtapes “Undeclared” and “The Drive-In, ” which have both exceeded all expectations. Therefore, it is safe to say that The Dean’s List has definitely mastered their flow and quality of sound.
After spending the past month touring up and down the east coast, The Pledge To Rage tour arrived in New Haven, CT, where The Dean’s List prepared to perform at Toad’s Place for the second time in the past two months.
When The Dean’s List was on tour earlier this year with the Animal House Tour, they enjoyed performing at Toad’s Place and immediately requested to return for The Pledge To Rage Tour.
OnCue opened for The Dean’s List and began the night by performing a handful of songs, along with a few new songs, to pump up the crowd.
After the appearance by OnCue, a small intermission took place before The Dean’s List took the stage. The Dean’s List began their performance with their song “All System’s Go,”which features OnCue. Because of the relatively small crowd that was attracted on a Sunday night, The Dean’s List was able to put on an intimate show, allowing fans to rap in their microphone and ask for song requests.
There was a very personal feel to the concert because of the fact that many fans were standing mere inches away for the artists. Of course, as the night drew to a close, The Dean’s List concluded with their most well known song “Dear Professor.”
DJ Mendoza recalls that after releasing their newest mixtape “The Drive-In” this past February, “our fan base definitely increased and we were able to get to the stage where our music began to be recognized.”
Their fan page on Facebook, titled “It’s the Dean’s List,” received 15,000 “likes” in the months following the release of “The Drive-In.”
While many fans wait for the Pledge To Rage Tour to reach them, there is a great deal of buzz surrounding the newest mixtape “Generation X,” which is set to be released at the beginning of next year.
For those who are high in anticipation for the release of “Generation X,” DJ Mendoza states that “our mentality for future music is ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.’ We have certain standards for the mixtape and right now we are just producing music and then narrowing it down from there.”
Sonny Shotz said of the future of The Dean’s List: “I think this is going to be our last mixtape before moving onto albums. I don’t see myself as being a ‘4 mixtape guy’ and I don’t want to be stuck in the category of mixtapes. They are a good way to start and find yourself as an artist, but I think after Generation X, it will be time to move on.”
So, while you are awaiting the release of Generation X, make sure to check out future Pledge To Rage Tour locations and continue to support great music.
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