“I just checked my bank account, yeah. All I seen was commas. Pull out an insane amount, yeah. Spend it on my momma.”
If you have spent any time with Gregory School students or on the TGS campus, there is a good chance that you have heard those lyrics from Jordyinadaze’s “I-10.”
I discovered Jordyinadaze about a year ago when watching a YouTube video entitled “Nico Mannion went SICKO MODE in front of Travis Scott!?” The video highlighted the basketball talent of current University of Arizona basketball star Nico Mannion who was one of the top high school basketball players in the nation when the video was released. Someone who greatly resembled Travis Scott, the famous rapper and Kylie Jenner’s ex-boyfriend, appeared in the thumbnail of the video.
My research determined that the Travis Scott look-alike was Jordyinadaze. Jordyinandaze is a Phoenix-based rapper and singer who is a close friend of Mannion, which explained Jordyinandaze’s presence in the video.
Out of curiosity, I listened to a few of his songs. I enjoyed them and introduced his music to a few of my friends.
Months later, in September 2019, the junior class trip’s bus ride back from Utah was filled with Jordyinadaze’s music. Junior Kasey Lapan, through Instagram direct messaging, sent Jordyinadaze a video of many of the junior class boys singing his song “I-10” while the bus was driving along Interstate 10.
Jordyinadaze was thrilled with the video and ended up sharing it with his fans on his Instagram and Twitter accounts. After messaging back and forth with Jordyinadaze on Instagram, Lapan shared the rapper’s phone number with me so I could contact him in regards to performing at TGS.
After numerous phone calls and texts with Jordyinadaze, I pitched the idea of the artist having a Homecoming concert at our school to Student Council. The idea was well-received by the council and they agreed that it would be best for Jordyinadaze to come during E3 on the day of Homecoming.
Jordyinadaze and I continued to correspond about what the concert would look like. After arranging a multitude of details, we made our plans concrete. Jordyinadaze would perform a set of his fan-favorite songs and unreleased new music. DJing for him would be star University of Arizona basketball player Max Hazzard. Additionally, we confirmed that uber-famous UArizona point guard Nico Mannion would attend the concert and TGS students would be able to meet and take pictures with him.
It was amazing to see a lot of hard work come to fruition at Homecoming. Jordyinadaze and Max Hazzard put on a fabulous, energetic concert that was loved by the whole audience, including Nico Mannion. Following the concert, Student Council hosted a three-point contest where various members of the TGS community, Hazzard, and Jordyinadaze attempted to make as many three-point shots as possible.
Beating the scores of both Hazzard and Jordyinadaze, Coach Josh Dickinson won the contest. Closing out the exploration were the semi-finals and finals matches of the high school ping pong tournament, where TGS students played throughout Homecoming week. During the exploration, the last four standing players competed. Senior Wilder Cooke demonstrated great ping pong skills and ended up winning the tournament.
Putting on a concert by a school-wide beloved artist was a very rewarding experience. The world acts in mysterious ways: it is hard to imagine that watching a basketball Youtube video would lead to a string of events that ultimately culminated with a concert. Driving on the I-10 will never feel the same.
Written by Drew Messing, Managing editor
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