‘For the vibes’: Students revel in droves at Juice Jam 2022

Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Sophia Herrera and Nyobi Boddie arrived at Juice Jam excited to see Doechii, one of their favorite artists, take the stage. But the rapper quickly surpassed their expectations when she invited them on stage to perform “Spookie Coochie.”

“Let my friends up here, let my friends up here,” Doechii said to security.

Doechii, along with co-headliners T-Pain and Flo Milli, and Yung Gravy, lit up the stage Sunday at Skytop Field for this year’s Juice Jam. Hosted by University Union, Juice Jam also featured food and merchandise vendors, inflatable games and photo opportunities.

Before Doechii started her set, DJ SaySay warmed up the audience with crowd-pleasers “Soldier Boy” and “Moment 4 Life,” and even congratulated the SU football team on defeating Purdue in football the day prior, which was met by cheers from the crowd.

At the beginning of her set, Doechii floated on stage in a blue patchwork dress, University Union bandana in tow. The artist enthralled her audience as she maintained a casual, conversational style throughout her performance.

“Who wears a size 9?” she yelled into the audience when her platform heels began hurting her feet.

The crowd waved their hands in the air, cheered Doechii’s name and sang along to her popular track, “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake.” And when Doechii gave the audience a taste of her new, unreleased song, she was instantly met with energy and support from the crowd.

Yung Gravy started his set off strong with one of his hit songs, “Gravy Train.” Like DJ SaySay, Yung Gravy made a point to note Syracuse’s recent football win. He further excited the crowd when he swapped his blue and white sweatshirt to bring out a Syracuse basketball jersey.

Following in Doechii’s footsteps, Yung Gravy performed his unreleased song, “C’est la vie.”

Toward the end of his set, the crowd started chanting “Sheri” in reference to Yung Gravy’s alleged relationship with Sheri Easterling, mother of TikTok star Addison Rae.

“Yeah I f*ck with Sheri,” Gravy said with a laugh.

The artist used the joke as a lead into his song, “1 Thot, 2 Thot, Green Thot, Blue Thot,” and the crowd approved immensely. Gravy ended his set with one of his other viral songs, “Betty (Get Money).”

Unlike the first two acts, Flo Milli opted for a simpler set, taking to the empty stage with colorful images from her previous album and EP covers displayed on the screen behind her.

Despite a light drizzle, the crowd matched her immense charisma. Flo Milli made frequent use of the pit, even leaving the stage to dance with audience members, which later included Doechii herself. She ended her set with her viral song, “In the Party,” as the crowd waved their hands and loudly sang along to the rhythm.

Just as people began to consider turning in for the day because of the clouds and rain, T-Pain appeared on stage. The performer revitalized the crowd with his top hits, like “Black and Yellow” and “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper),” which included mashups and his feature tracks.

T-Pain performed against various digital visuals like caution tape with black and yellow written all over them and videos of pyrotechnics. His set drew to a close when he performed “Good Life,” his GRAMMY winning collaboration with Kanye West, which was a full-circle moment for the audience.

From watching their favorite artists perform to battling their friends on one of the inflatable games, UU’s Juice Jam gave SU students a day to remember.

“I’m really into events like this,” said civil engineering freshman Candace Tabb. “Just for the vibes.”