Emporia State welcomed new students with a musical performance by Gabriel “Gabe” Andrews, junior business administration major, and Benjamin “Benny” Bowden, junior digital audio recording major – otherwise known as hip-hop duo Gabe & Benny – Tuesday night in Albert Taylor Hall. The performance featured the debut of a new song titled “Right Now,” written and recorded by the duo specifically for ESU.
“We thought orientation would be a good time to introduce a song because it would get new students excited about being part of ESU,” Bowden said.
Bowden said the hip-hop duo experiments with dubstep and R&B.
“We’ve been talking about doing a hype song for ESU for a while now,” Andrews said.
Bowden said they enjoyed working with Jason Bosch, director of Student Life Learning and Assessment, on planning the event and to spread the hype.
“He really has a good vision about welcoming new students,” Bowden said.
President Michael Shonrock stepped onstage before the duo’s performance to talk to freshman about their upcoming college experience. Shonrock recalled an interesting conversation he had with a student he met earlier Tuesday morning.
“I asked one new student today how they liked it here,” Shonrock said. “They said, ‘I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m really having a great time.’”
Andrews and Bowden are anticipating more off-campus performances this semester.
“We are planning more shows in Emporia,” Bowden said. “Four of them all are within the next month. I think these first few back-to-school shows are going to be really fun.”
Andrews and Bowden performed an encore of “Right Now” later that evening during the Block Party at the intersection of 10th Ave. and Commercial Street.
The duo released an R&B-tinged mix tape titled “Overcome” earlier this year, which included their 2011 singles “My Town” and “Party.” Bowden performed at the Icebox Music and Poetry event at Wheat State Pizza in April. Andrews and Bowden plan on writing and recording more material for a future mix tape release, but for now, their main game plan is to expand their “positive vibes music” to more venues.
“We are planning on releasing another mix tape within the next year,” Andrews said. “But for the moment, we are going to be focused more on live performances.”
