Rap duo Run the Jewels and opening act Biz Markie will perform in the Tavern on March 27 for the Student Union Board’s final concert of the academic year.
Doors will open at 8 p.m. for the concert, which is free for AU students with a valid ID, according to a press release.
The show comes on the heels of last semester’s Karmin/JoJo concert during Welcome Week and the Broad City comedy showcase in November.
“We couldn’t be more excited for this show,” SUB director Mike Creedon said in the press release. “After the success of Broad City Live and Chance The Rapper, we knew that Run The Jewels were the perfect act to bring. We’re proud to provide AU a rare chance to see an act that is so powerful and exciting live while they are at their peak.”
Creedon said his team chose Biz Markie in order to show the influence of older hip-hop music on modern acts like Run the Jewels.
“Overall, I see Run The Jewels picking up, reshaping and moving forward with this classic early era of hip-hop,” Creedon said in an email. “Bringing both eras together is an amazing opportunity.”
Run the Jewels is comprised of Mike Render (known as Killer Mike) and Jamie Meline (known as El-P), both of whom have had active careers in hip-hop since the early 2000s. Killer Mike makes a guest appearance in the OutKast song “Snappin’ and Trappin’.”
They teamed up in 2012, calling themselves Run the Jewels and releasing their debut album as a free digital download. The duo’s 2014 follow-up "Run the Jewels 2" topped numerous critics’ lists of the best albums of 2014.
Render also made headlines in 2014 for an impassioned speech about Ferguson during a Run the Jewels concert.
Biz Markie’s biggest claim to fame is his 1989 smash hit “Just a Friend,” which samples Freddie Scott’s “You Got What I Need.”
More recently, he’s done voice acting on “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Adventure Time,” made cameo appearances in “Men in Black II” and “Sharknado 2: The Second One” and helped with fundraising events for executives in Howard County, Maryland.
