T. Pain circus includes Sophia Fresh

4.27.09 / A&E / By Julia Nene

(cowritten by Mark Liberto and Julia Nene)

Students and patrons of Clarion flocked to Tippin Gymnasium last Friday to catch the annual CampusFest concert.

This year the campus was graced with the presence of hip hop icon T. Pain along with the up and coming group Sophia Fresh; a trio of girls whose sassy dance moves, soulful vocals and unique clothing style got the crowd pumped up and ready to go.

Doors opened around 6 p.m., stuffing the floor of Tippin full of students eagerly waiting for the show to begin.

By 7 p.m., a DJ starting cranking tunes for the crowd. People were dancing left and right, singing along, and screaming when the DJ instructed them to do so.

Finally the lights dimmed, a sudden hush came upon the crowd, and everyone’s eyes gazed to the stage to see who would emerge. There upon it, three figures stood frozen in time.

Sophia Fresh came out onto the stage with a tenacity that isn’t expected from an opening act. The crowd was watched intently to the girl group’s presence and dance moves. They performed their new single “What it is” and managed to raise the roof of Tippin.

The Clarion Call caught up with Sophia Fresh, consisting of Skye, Crystal and Cole Rose, backstage. The girls were more than happy and humble to answer questions about how the group got together, where they got their style, and what it is they love about the road.

“Well we all have been performing since we were kids, but we have been together for the past five years know,” Crystal said.

“The road is amazing, we love it, and all we do is eat, sleep and laugh at our favorite movies or sitcoms,” Cole Rose said, “We’re always watching ‘Coming to America’ and all the ‘Friday’ movies, they’re our favorites.

“I love to live on the road. It’s fun! The bus is better than staying in a hotel,” said Skye.

When asked who was a major influence for Sophia Fresh while they were growing up, the girls were quick to answer.

“I have to say Erykah Badu,” said Cole Rose.

“Definitely Michael Jackson, Janet too,” said Skye. “It wasn’t just about singing with them, they danced, they put on a show and they really gave you the whole package, and that is definitely what we try to do on stage.”

Their new single, “What it is,” was produced by Kanye West, which came unexpectedly for Sophia Fresh.

“(West) was at the top of my list for people to work with. I wasn’t expecting him to be inspired by our music,” said Crystal.

The girls threw out some more names of collaborative hopefuls, including Missy Elliot, Busta Rhymes and Timbaland.

“We want to try out reggae, and it would be great to get Rihanna to work with us on that,” added Cole Rose.

Sophia Fresh has high hopes with working with the best in the business and it seems like they’re well on their way. What they really want to do is be able to stand out.

“We like to call it chaotic order, if I feel like wearing this or that today, that’s what I’m wearing,” said Cole Rose.

“I’ll throw on anything as long as I have lip gloss,” said Skye.

“We want to break out of the whole girl group mold. Everyone has an opinion, but to be able to be yourself – here it is,” said Crystal.

When asked how they like touring with T. Pain, Cole Rose was quick to answer.

“What you see on stage is what you get behind the scenes – always crazy!”

T. Pain emerged after the intermission and the crowd was back into action. He played his hits such as “I’m Sprung,” “I’m in Love with a Stripper,” “On a Boat” and “Bartender.” Half of the songs performed were not originally T. Pain’s. During some songs, the rapper just danced around or let the crowd sing the lyrics without him.

Even with this factor though, he succeeded in giving the students what they wanted, a nice little treat after a hard and tedious spring semester. Watch for the upcoming Sophia Fresh album that will drop at the end of the year.

Julia Nene was the news editor of The Call. She graduated in 2009.

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