Lakeland’s Black Student Union hosted a Wisconsin artist by the name of Ish Darr this past Friday, Feb. 19.

The 20-year-old artist, born and raised in Milwaukee Wis., cultivated a love of Hip Hop while growing up and listening to the music his father used to play.

According to the Journal Sentinel, who interviewed Darr a couple of years ago, Darr’s rap career started while he attend a studio session during his freshman year at Messmer High School, and he’s been going ever since.

Darr wasn’t the only artist to perform on Feb. 19, though. Lakeland’s own Jody Harrison, sophomore pre-nursing major, opened up for Darr.

“I’ve been rapping since I was about 12,” said Harrison, “Ever since my brother finished his first mixtape.”

Of his performance, Harrison said, “I was excited to let fellow Lakeland students hear my music and perform.” He added, “I felt honored to have the opportunity to open the show.”

And that’s what he did. Under dim lights and the Friday night atmosphere of the 1862 Lounge, Harrison performed with friends on stage, as well as other Lakeland students, including seniors Joshua Guy, exercise science major, and Kezlow Smith.

Of his performance, Harrison said, “This experience will have great impact on my craft. Let’s me see where I am, let’s me see more of what I need to do.”

After Harrison’s performance, the crowd danced to a mixture of party songs, followed by live performances from Emoney and Ecoop, who came along with Darr. They brought the crowd together, making everyone stand up and come towards the stage.

What started off has a slow gathering began to pick up speed as the crowd began to vibe with the music.

The energy of the artists continued up until Darr came on stage and performed his most played song on Spotify, “Too Bad,” in which he speaks on having two beautiful women rolling Marijuana blunts in the backseat of his car.

Darr garnered the most reactions from the fans and had them moving a tad bit more than the other performers.

“The concert was cool,” said Martesia Neal, sophomore exercise science major and vice president of the Student Foundation Board. “I liked how a majority of the people were turning up to Ish and his crew’s music.”

Neal felt that the crowd needed time to warm up to Darr, but eventually did so and will continue to do so in the future.

“I think some people might listen to him now because of his good performance. I definitely enjoyed it,” said Neal.

When asked if she would like to see more performances similar to his, she said, “I would definitely like more rappers to come to Lakeland. Or just concerts in general because they give a party vibe without it being too crazy.”