Riding the gravy train to the polls
This past Wednesday was a brisk fall day in midterm season, students in Madison were hunkered down studying or hastily hustling from class to class, that is, unless you were at the noontime Yung Gravy concert.
Rapper and University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate Yung Gravy performed at Liquid Madison as part of the nationwide “Party to the Polls” tour, which focused on encouraging voter participation ahead of the election.
The performance, despite being characterized by consistent technical difficulties which led Gravy to repeatedly ask who was in charge of the venue, was loud and passionate. Fans called for the rapper to shout out his old residence hall (Ogg) and he told a charming anecdote about his sexual promiscuity while he lived in the “sophomore slums”. Afterwards, Yung Gravy led a march, Spotted Cow in his outstretched hand, to Memorial Union, where he held a short meet and greet and encouraged voters to cast their ballots.
In an interview with the Daily Cardinal, Gravy opened up about why he chose to perform, on a Wednesday, at 12 PM, “I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t Madison. I just got off a full year of touring and told my agent to stop booking things, but then I saw this and thought it was pretty cool.”
While some may argue that taking advice from a rapper who promotes sleeping with older women is ill-advised, I find it to be refreshing. In a college town like Madison, why shouldn’t a 6 ‘8 blond rapper be the one to spread the word about the importance of voter turnout.
Gravy is the perfect example of the dual nature of modern voters, he can lead a crowd in song about MILFS, while also arguing for important issues. Like, when the rapper explained to The Daily Cardinal that while he tries to “stay out of political shit as an artist” he draws the line on bodily autonomy, saying, “Any sort of strong feelings for me would be abortion. I think people should be able to get abortions, and that’s the one thing I’ll stand on.”
This article is an ode to Madison, Wisconsin. A city which helps foster growth, dialog, learning, and unabashed pride in being who you want to be. A city with curds, cows, and a complex community. In this town that helped a kid named Matthew Raymond Hauri become a global rap sensation, it’s hard not to think anything is possible. However, with all of its strengths, comes responsibility: Madison is a crucial area which will impact the outcome of the upcoming election.
So, to quote our esteemed alumni, “It’s not hard to do it. Just go do it. It doesn’t take that long. Girls will like you. Do it.”
GO VOTE.
Early in-person voting in Wisconsin started on Monday, and on-campus polling locations at Memorial Union, Union South and the Health Sciences Learning Center are open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. through Nov. 3.