No liquor, but rappers will get $95,000 for Spring Fling

A bottle of Hennessy, Ciroc and two Backwoods cigars are the items removed from Tory Lanez’s contract with the University of Memphis. 

Hip-Hop duo Rae Sremmurd didn’t ask for any liquor, but they are getting paid three times more than Lanez, according to documents held by the U of M and acquired through an open records request from The Daily Helmsman. 

The concert will cost the university $95,000 for both artists, all of which is coming from student fees paid to the university for special events. 

Even though the University of Memphis refused to provide the booze, Lanez will still get a variety of goodies in his green room, including a bag of Goldfish, Puffy Cheetos, a bottle of Simply Blueberry Lemonade and Simply Orange Juice, a meat platter, a bag of green tea, honey, a lemon and a teapot.

Hospitality riders (food and amenities requests from music artist) are known for being outrageous. Yet, the list of items provided to rappers who performed during the last three of U of M’s Spring Flings seem somewhat mild.  

For example, when Ty Dolla $ign preformed at the U of M on April 2015, he requested a large bunch of bananas, a pineapple, chicken wings with “Chick-Fil-A sauce, Polynesian sauce, and BBQ sauce.â€

Artists often make requests that the University of Memphis  must turn down because the U of M has a no alcohol policy and limits smoking to designated areas, said Billy Mueller, assistant university counsel in the U of M’s legal department. 

“We see often with groups or acts that want to perform. If they were performing at a private club or somewhere else that is maybe something that would be provided," Muller said. "But the department knows no alcohol. If they didn’t pull it out, we would have.â€

Lanez, the 23-year-old Canadian artist behind the 2015 album Cruel Intentions, will open for Rae Sremmurd, Hip-Hop artistes and brothers from Tupelo, Mississippi.  

The university will pay $20,000 to Lanez’s contractor, One Blue Umbrella, LLC, to perform for 45 minutes. 

However, the U of M will pay Rae Sremmurd’s contractor, Sremm Entertainment, $75,000. They will preform for about an hour, according to the contract. 

As far as U of M Spring Flings go, this is not the first time the university has dished out a large amount of money for a performer. 

During the April 2014 Spring Fling, Big Sean’s contractor pulled in $60,000 for his hour long performance. 

The university paid ILoveMakonnen’s contractor $25,000 for his 45 minute performance on April 25, 2015. 

Ty Dolla $ign’s contractors earned only $20,000 for his 45- minute performance in April 2015. 

In both contracts, the University of Memphis will receive a 20 percent cut in all merchandise, which is the standard university take when artist play the Spring Fling or other university events. 

The U of M will also get a 20 percent cut in all merchandise and concessions sold during the Spring Fling event at the U of M’s Alumni Mall Lawn 7 p.m. Saturday.