Waka Flocka’s ‘Flaming’ Fall Fest

Waka Flocka Flame was the main act with opener 2KBABY at St. Lawrence Fall Fest on Friday, Sept. 23. The artist, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, was interviewed after his hour-long show on the rugby field on campus.  

Waka noted that he always hopes for “peaceful crowds, but it never happens.” Specifically, he was reminiscing on when he stopped the show for a student after being pushed to the ground in the middle of the crowd. “This girl’s on the ground—that ain’t no joke, man. They get hot down there, too,” he said.  

A.C.E. President Ileana Knight ‘24 acknowledged that the biggest issue with this year’s Fall Fest was the “crowd control and people being squished.” “It’s really difficult to do that, especially when we allow alcohol into the event,” she said.  

“But, we learned that maybe taking ten steps back isn’t necessarily the best thing because people might rush forward and create a whole different problem,” she continued. Knight noted that maintaining a safe audience zone will be a priority for the St. Lawrence club’s future performances. She hopes to create a way for audience members to express that they are in pain or need help getting out and to “meet with security beforehand.” 

However, Knight believes that Waka’s set, in general, went well. “There are definitely things to work on for Spring Fest, but overall, Waka Flocka performed really nicely and was really involved with the crowd, which, I think, made people really happy,” she said. 

In addition to making sure the audience was safe, Waka also interacted with the crowd a lot. At one point, he went into the actual audience and danced and sang with them. His songs originate from his reflection on his life, according to Waka. “Honestly, I just fucked up, you know, in life,” he said.  

“You know the typical life, you gotta go to school…I fucked up in school, you know what I’m saying? I fucked up in basketball, I couldn’t get a career,” he continued.  

Because of this, he just decided to become an artist, and he continued with this career to change the lives of the people closest to him. “I got tired of some of the boys being locked up. I had to see my mom work a million jobs. It got to the point where I was just like fuck it, I want to help everybody,” he said. “I never did it for myself. Now, I am actually doing stuff for myself—it took me almost 15 years to do it,” he continued.  

Religion has also played a large role in Waka’s music career. “I just thought God gave me something because I did not ask for this, but I appreciated it, enough to respect it, so that is what inspired me,” he said. 

Outside of music, Waka has been active in various activities. In 2020, he obtained his honorary doctorate degree in philanthropy and humanitarianism from the Bible Institute of American Theological Seminary for his charity work and mental health advocacy. “I heard people call me a ‘whack rapper’ because I have a degree,” he said. 

Although he may be a famous musician, he enjoys simple things in life. One of these simple things includes farming and his love for nature. “I love farming…I just wanted to learn how to appreciate more food and nature,” he said.   

“I’m definitely a simple person. I just love to party, that’s it. I’m a gangster nerd—I grew up with a gangster lifestyle, but I love nerd shit,” he said. “I just love it, like nerd life is just simple as fuck,” he continued. 

Waka left with very wise advice in how to live life, saying, “Like just make mistakes. It don’t matter, bro. If you made a mistake with a pure heart, it’s cool.” We thank Waka Flocka Flame for his very wise words and fabulous performance at the 2022 Fall Fest at St. Lawrence University.