THE PENDULUM
STYLE
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 // PAGE 17
burns'em up
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LINDSAY FENDT | Photo Editor
Comedian Bo Burnham entertained in Alumni Gym for several hours Sept. 20. Burnham faced
technical difficulties, but continued on with the show.
Krt Arfauckle
Reporter
A lot of things were working
against Bo Burnham and his
show Tuesday, Sept. 21. There
were conflicting messages sent
out regarding the time of the
event, causing some students to
arrive more than an hour early.
Audience members were let in
late, causing the show itself to
start behind schedule. Finally,
even though the show took place
in the newly renovated Alumni
Gym, technical problems
plagued the show at every turn.
Burnham rose above it
all, though, and gave Elon
University students a night
of intellectual and profane
comedy they’ll not soon forget.
Burnham’s brand of comedy
is witty and pubescent, honest
and outrageous, and above all,
snarky. He addressed race, sex.
Catholic school and a myriad
of other controversial topics
with a straight face as his
audience roared with laughter.
And, while he matched many
older comedians in political
incorrectness, the truly unique
aspect of is show was the
music. Burnham sang frankly
and unabashedly at his electric
keyboard and with his guitar,
performing both new and
previouslywell-recievedmaterial.
The nature of Burnham’s
show is to shock his audience
into laughter by way of
tactlessness and sincerity.
Offensive it may be, but the up-
and-coming artist said that his
stage personality is different
from his normal behavior.
Burnham attempted a
particular skit involving several
pre-recorded voices slowly
being cut together to form a
song, but a technical goof ended
it short just as things were
escalating toward a finale. He
claimed the night of the show
was the first time he attempted
the skit, so there is hope that the
bugs will be fixed in the future.
At one point, Burnham
even went so far as to recite
Hamlet's famous “to be or
not to be” soliloquy and then
stepped back to ask, “What
does that (even) mean?"
Burnham is a native of
Hamilton, Mass., where he was
born in 1990. His age makes him
both appealing and relatable for
college-age people — if he were
still in school, he would be a
junior in college. His songs tend
to focus on such serious topics as
real-world angst, relationships
and self-doubt, but all, of
course, with a humorous twist.
He began posting videos
of his songs on YouTube in
2006, while still in high school.
In the fall of 2007, talent
agent Douglas Edley of The
Gersh Agency contacted him —
the same agent who represents
Drew Carey and Dave Chappelle.
Burnham performed on
Comedy Central shortly after
he turned 18. Since then.
Comedy Central Records has
released his six-song HP, “Bo
Fo Sho,” in 2008 and his self
titled full album in 2009. He’s
been on two tours, won awards
at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival
Fringe, and reportedly has been
contacted about several movie
and television opportunities.
The turnout was better
than anyone had expected,
said SUB Stage Executive
Meaghan Britain. According to
Britain, the final attendance
count exceeded 700 students.
Twenty-year-old Burnham
has managed to capture the
persona of a post-millennia
adolescence. One certainly
has to admire a performer
who can sing so quickly,
while still retaining excellent
articulation and clever lyrics.
K.O. Kid knocks out the competition
Ashley Watkins
Reporter
It’s about 1 a.m. and The Fat Frogg
bar in Elon is jumping with music and
dancing. Inside, a 20-year-old stands
on the stage trying to freestyle a
rap based off the word supercalifra
gilisticexpialidocious. He succeeds
— the crowd screams and people
wave their hands in the air. This is
a typical performance night for up-
and-coming area rapper K.O. Kid.
“A lot of people think my name
stands for knockout, but my real name
is Kobla. Full name Kobla Hargett,”
said K.O. Kid before the sound check
of his Thursday night performance at
The Fat Frogg.
Kid.'s nickname was given to him
the way all good nicknames are: by
just hanging out with friends.
“We had already been calling him
K.O. for a long time, so it just kind
of stuck,” said Paul Barker, Kid’s
producer, better known in the music
business as Ladro.
Kid is a senior biology pre-med
major at East Carolina University.
“My schedule is pretty hectic,” he
said, “It’s pretty much a continuous
grind.”
He began rapping a little more
than a year ago.
“I used to freestyle with my friends
all the time at parties, just kicking
it and having fun with people,” he
said.
He travels around the North
Carolina area, particularly around
Chapel Hill where he is from, trying
to create a buzz. Though he has only
been doing shows for one year, Kid
writes all of his own music along
with his producer, Ladro.
“He (Ladro) makes the beats, I
BRIAN ALLENBY | Staff PhotosraptWf
Rapper K.O. Kid performs at Fat Frogg on Thursday, Sept. 23rd. K.O. Is a pre-med and biology
student at East Carolina University, but performs around the state.
write the music," Kid said.
Kid and Ladro live in different
towns, so they use video chat, e-mails
and text messages to get the music
and the beats combined to create a
final product.
Kid takes influences from a lot
of the new rappers in the industry,
especially those who have fresh ideas
to influence music that is already out
there.
“I’m influenced by the guys who
are really almost not what hip hop
has always been.” Kid said. “A lot of
people would consider hip-hop to be
the gangster area, that kind of thing.
And right now, it’s just a whole slew
of these guys who are just coming
out, cross genre rappers.”
Kid said he draws a lot of
inspiration from his family.
“The (new album) is called ‘Doctor's
Orders’ and my dad is actually an ER
physician," he said. “In high school
and college he played in a band, so
my father has a huge influence on
everything I do, as does the rest of
my family."
Though it has not always been
his goal to become a rapper, rapping
is something K.O. Kid would like to
pursue in the future.
After working this past summer
on HIV research in New York, the
doctor he worked for has been trying
to secure Kid a job. He said he hopes
to continue to do music on the side of
his professional job after college.
“I won’t stop making music till I
have to," he said of his future plans.
Along with being more seasoned
in the industry, K.O has found that
music is more fun for him now. He
said he loves the adrenaline that
comes with rapping.
“The split second when you drop
a word when you’re freestyling.
Everything can go wrong or you make
it all go right. It’s my favorite feeling.
I live for it."
K.O’s said his ultimate goal is to be
at the top of whatever he’s doing and
to make music that people enjoy.
“I hope to share a whole bunch
of perspective and just good times,”
she said. “I want to make music that
people love and as far as what I look
to gain for myself, whatever 1 can get.
Wherever it goes, that’s where I’m
going.”