On Nov. 8, Rowan After Hours (RAH) partnered with the Hip Hop Culture Club to host a Jazz and Spoken Word Night at the Chamberlain Student Center.
Students had to check in with RAH at the door at 11 p.m., where they were given food, which included bagels and beverages. The RAH staff had a coaster decoration area while listening to the performers encouraging students to feel welcome to a calm night at the Student Center.
The night started with Gerald Carrion, a senior at Rowan University and one of RAH’s staff, reading his poem. The crowd started small, but more students continued to emerge and show support for the performers.
There was a mix of poets, singers, and rappers who showed off their talent that night as the crowd began to form with each performer.
Next, the President of the Hip Hop Culture Club, Yashira Guzman, went on stage to read one of her poems.
“I used to write a lot of poetry, it became like an outlet, any emotions I write it down,” Guzman said. “I wrote this poem a while ago, it was a hard time and I had a lot going on so I wanted to write it all down on paper to kind of let everything go.”
All majors and grade levels were invited to the event to let out their energy and feelings. The space was catered to fit a place where students could have fun and enjoy themselves.
Not only was the Hip Hop Culture at the event, but the Poetic Justice Club also had some of their members perform their poems.
Vice President of the Poetic Justice Club, Danih-Lael Alexandre performed two lovely poems to the audience.
“I feel like with poetry words can be an escape with the way I could just say I am hurt but instead I am saying in long lines. It’s a way to kind of be lame about it, but it’s artistic,” Danih-Lael Alexandre said.
Lots of energy ran through the crowd, not only for the poets but for the singers and rappers. Famous songs such as “Baby” by Justin Bieber and “My Boo” by Alicia Keys and Usher were sung on stage. There was excitement shown by students throughout performances, while this heightened when the song “Baby” by Justin Bieber was sung, rallying the crowd. More people started to fill up the seats watching.
“I am a lover of culture, so just getting to experience different things inside of culture is a great feeling,” said Gabby Bullock, a freshman majoring in Law and Justice.
The night ended at 1 a.m. with singers closing out the night in a farewell performance.
“It’s fun to be able to see people’s creativity,” said sophomore RAH staff member, Hannah Camarote.
A lot of students participated and had a great time not only watching the performances but being able to be a part of the performances. Some clubs joined together to let students.
“All the acts have been good. I wish more events involved just students getting out of their shells and being comfortable and just grabbing a microphone and getting on stage, I wish there was more of that,” said senior Gerald Carrion. “This is an event for students where they are making the event. I’m going off of your energy. Your energy is what is making my energy.”
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