Get to Know the Homecoming Lineup

By JD Davern

Everyone has ‘their’ song, be it a couple’s song or just a soundtrack to a routine. A lot of these songs are found at events like homecoming, and to know the song that’s right for you, you have to know the artists. Georgia College’s spring 2016 homecoming features the musical stylings of three up-and-coming artists: Pia Mia, Lil’ Dicky and Rich Homie Quan.

Pia Mia, last name Perez, is a Guam-born model who turned to music in 2013 through none other than Abu Thiam, better recognized as Chris Brown’s manager. She works in the sphere of R&B, hip hop and pop music. Pia Mia began her first full-length studio album after signing with Interscope Records in 2014, and has since compiled an astonishing 100 songs for it, though, of course, only the tracks listed are available. Before that, she began on YouTube, uploading singles from her EP, “The Gift,” on her VEVO channel before releasing them for free following her signing new record label. Notable tunes to listen for are her cover of Drake’s “Hold on, We’re Going Home” and “Fight For You,” a collaboration single with Chance the Rapper, written special for the “Insurgent” soundtrack in 2014.

Lil’ Dicky, or David Burd, is an American comedian who started his rap career in 2013 to get more media attention, a tactic that certainly paid off. His debut mixtape “So Hard” released in 2013 and garnered him the critical acclaim he needed to further both his rapping and his comedy. After going broke, he initiated a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for continued production, which succeeded. His premier rap album is “Professional Rapper,” released in 2015 and features our next performer, Rich Homie Quan, as well as Snoop Dogg and Hannibal Buress, among others. His breakout music video is titled “Ex-Boyfriend” and should tell you everything you need to know.

Rounding out the cast is Dequantes Devontay Lamar, better known as Rich Homie Quan., A a rapper closer to home, coming from Atlanta, Georgia. If ever there was an underdog in the rapping scene, Rich Homie Quan would be it. He started low-key in 2013 by appearing in multiple Gucci Mane, YG and 2Chainz music videos until his 2012 mixtape, “Still Going In,” caught national attention as Rolling Stones’ tenth best of the following year. He is a ‘dirty south’ rapper, singing crude and creative lyrics that paint bleak pictures of how he grew up and what he aspired to. His claim to fame, it seems, is his single “Type of Way,” adopted by the 2013 Michigan state Spartan lineup, which he joined at the 100th Rose Bowl, and later celebrated with by singing.