In October, 300 Entertainment and Young Thug invited all historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) marching bands to produce a short video to be posted on social media showcasing their school spirit and talent with their best marching band rendition of Young Thug’s “Hot”.
The rules stipulated that the school to receive the highest engagement on their video will receive a $25,000 donation total to the winning school’s music department/Band Program from Young Thug’s record label Young Stoner Life Records & Kevin Liles and 300 Entertainment.
Several HBCU bands participated in the campaign including Hampton University, Central State University, Elizabeth City State University, University at Arkansas Pine Bluff, Virginia State University, Morgan State University, South Carolina State University, Fort Valley State University and Benedict College.
After weeks of anticipation, 300 Entertainment Co-Founder and CEO Kevin Liles traveled to the winning HBCU and surprised them during band practice. Liles himself is a proud HBCU graduate himself, hailing from Morgan State University. Watch the surprise.
Liles shares his excitement with FAMU’s The Marching 100:
“On behalf of YSL and 300 Entertainment, Congratulations to all #HotHBCUChallenge participants – your creativity is inspiring, and to FAMU continue to make us proud as the 1st winners of the Challenge. Our support of the HBCU creative community will never waiver. They are our future leaders, engineers, artists, entrepreneurs, and we recognize the importance of a collaborative environment that understands their social dna, while at the same time challenging them to dream bigger, work harder and focus on what really matters. Education is power, entrepreneurship is key, and ownership should be our driving force.” – Kevin Liles, Co-Founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment
Check out FAMU’s Marching 100 Marching Band’s official entry:
Although Young Thug could not be there in person to surprise the student, he did share his sentiments with this video.
FAMU”s Director of Bands, Dr. Shelby Chipman shared his appreciation and excitement:
On behalf of FAMU’s ‘Marching 100’ band, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Young Thug and Kevin Liles for an outstanding initiative with the HBCU Hot Challenge and the members of Marching 100 who had an absolutely fantastic time designing our formation and the music arrangement by Lindsey Sargent. We will be eternally grateful to Young Thug, Kevin Liles, and anyone associated for providing HBCUs an opportunity to showcase their talents and creativity. We’re even more excited about the same opportunity to use the award towards band operations, scholarships, and initiatives that will allow us to move the FAMU Marching 100 forward. We look forward to showing up this weekend at the Honda Hot Battle of the Bands in Georgia.” – Dr. Shelby Chipman, Director of Bands at Florida A&M University
The marching band also shared the congratulatory video in a post to its Instagram page:
Congratulations again to The Marching 100!
