USF opens up with hip-hop concert By MICHAEL PATRICK WELCH Published Aug. 27, 1999 St. Petersburg Times

USF opens up with hip-hop concert By MICHAEL PATRICK WELCH Published Aug. 27, 1999 St. Petersburg Times This is the week when USF's Tampa campus makes its annual transition from the ghost town of summer to the fresh-faced, fast-paced, bustling campus of the fall semester. Ushering in the season will be progressive Atlanta hip-hop outfit, Goodie Mob. In league with the Dungeon Family clique (which includes Grammy winners, OutKast) and production team, Organized Noize (OutKast, TLC, Witchdoctor, Cool Breeze), Goodie Mob is exemplary of the sound of Southern hip-hop: rapid-fire lyrics of black Southern living over futuristic yet down-home beats. While other groups pull their hooks out of the Motown catalog, Goodie Mob and The Dungeon Family rarely sample anyone but their own live musicians, giving their funky music an organic feel. Though normally accompanied by a kickin' live band, this show at the Special Events Center will feature only the rappers and their deejay. Thomas Krepski, 23, of the Campus Activities Board, sees Goodie Mob as representative of CAB's attempts at diversity. To Krepski, the social messages of Goodie Mob represent the awareness expected at and associated with college campuses. "(Goodie Mob) is very conscious of what they say and what kind of message they're trying to get across," Krepski said. Local veteran Alvin Harris, 27, a.k.a. Funkghost, will open the show. Formerly Tap, Ghost and Phobia, Funkghost performs in anticipation of his soon-to-be-released CD, Ultra-Boogie Highlife. Harris, who has been writing, producing and performing in Tampa for eight years, describes his latest incarnation as part of the "purist movement" in hip-hop. Harris employs enough eclectic influences to forge his own wall of sound along the lines of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. MICHAEL PATRICK WELCH/STAFF WRITER St. Petersburg Times