Talib Kweli will perform in Meehan Auditorium on Thursday, April 21, the Brown Concert Agency confirmed Monday.
Kweli, a Brooklyn-based rapper, will not headline the Thursday night concert, said BCA Chair Randi Siegel '05. He will be the supporting act for a headliner who she said has yet to be confirmed.
"Although we haven't yet announced our main act for Thursday, it will be awesome," she said.
Kweli's Spring Weekend appearance will cost BCA $20,000, Siegel told The Herald.
Kweli joins Ben Folds in the Spring Weekend lineup, which Siegel said will eventually include between four and six acts, depending on the fees of the performers.
Siegel said the Undergraduate Finance Board increased BCA's budget for this year from approximately $89,000 to the current $105,000.
The budget increases are especially appreciated because the UFB budget is tighter than ever, Siegel said, citing a 20 percent increase in groups funded by UFB but no increase in the student activities fees that constitute UFB's funding.
This year's BCA budget is the second largest in its history - only last year's funding of $124,000 was higher.
But the problem, Siegel said, is that the music industry is drastically increasing its fees.
She pointed to Maroon 5, which charged $25,000 last year but wanted $150,000 when solicited by BCA for this year's Spring Weekend.
Kweli is touring to support his September 2004 album, "The Beautiful Struggle," his second solo effort after well-received collaborations with Hi-Tek and childhood friend Mos Def. Considered by reviewers to be more commercial than 2002's "Quality," it features collaborations with Faith Evans and Mary J. Blige. His first single, "I Try," was produced by Kanye West.
Kweli announced the Spring Weekend tour date on his Web site. He is the second act confirmed for the annual bacchanalia, after Ben Folds, who will headline Saturday's Main Green show.
