IU welcomes Macklemore to Assembly Hall

Assembly Hall was filled Wednesday night with fans, dressed in patterned leggings, fluorescent tanks and other thrift shop-worthy apparel in honor of the Union Board’s official Little 500 concert featuring hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

Macklemore and Lewis hail from Seattle and have collaborated together since 2010.

Prior to teaming up with Lewis, Macklemore released EPs, albums and mixtapes as a solo artist. 

The pair’s independently produced debut album, “The Heist,” was released in October 2012.

It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, behind Mumford & Sons’ “Babel,” and has gone on to sell more than 500,000 copies in the United States.

Opening the show were fellow hip-hop acts Wale and Talib Kweli.

Kweli kicked off the show with a 40-minute set, featuring songs that sampled artists from the Beatles to Nina Simone.

Kweli attempted to get the crowd’s energy up early in the show.

“This is Little 500,” Kweli yelled out to the crowd. “On the count of three, give me all the noise you got.”

He received a generous response from the crowd, which slowly grew in size as his set progressed.

Rapper Wale took the stage at about 9 p.m. wearing a Victor Oladipo jersey.

Wale’s Hoosier basketball spirit was on huge display as he congratulated the team on an overall successful season.

The D.C. rapper and backup musicians and vocalists riled up with an introductory DJ set that featured hit songs such as “We Found Love” by Rihanna, “Good Feeling” by Flo Rida and “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen.

Wale kept the crowd going by putting his best dance moves on display, even moon walking across the stage at one point while the crowd chanted “go Wale go Wale go.”

Wale even ran offstage and down the aisle of the floor seats to get even more up close with concert-goers.

Wale’s set ended with an Oladipo chant reminiscent of basketball season, followed by a surprise appearance by Oladipo himself, along with fellow Hoosier Christian Watford.
The pair partied along with Wale as he closed his set.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis will continue to tour throughout the year to support their new album, with stops in Missouri, Colorado and Maryland on the way.

Macklemore opened his set at 10 p.m. with “Ten Thousand Hours.” Dressed in a fur vest and skinny jeans, Macklemore greeted the audience by saying, “Hoosiers, welcome to the Heist.”

Macklemore shed his jacket to reveal a No. 40 Cody Zeller jersey and stated his excitement about being at IU.

“This is one show that I’ve been particularly excited for,” he said.

After borrowing an audience member’s fur coat, Macklemore broke into his biggest hit, “Thrift Shop.”

The crowd erupted in cheers as soon as it started and shouted the song’s lyrics along with the rapper.

Before his gay-rights anthem, “Same Love,” Macklemore declared his support for the cause.

“I don’t know what you believe,” he said. “But I believe in equality.”

Freshman Caela Reis said she was looking forward to the big night, her first Little 500 concert as an IU student.

“I’ve been listening to his album all year, and I’ve heard he puts on really good shows,” Reis said. “I always look forward to hearing songs I’ve listened to over and over when they’re performed live. I’m not often a huge rap fan, but his lyrics and the music are incredibly catchy, and he actually has some pretty meaningful songs.”