Afroman makes a toast with his Colt 45 to a sell-out crowd at the Dragonfly Theater and Pub Thursday night. Photo by Christy Bullins

by PHILLIP WYATT
Intern Lifestyles Reporter

Editor’s Note: This story contains strong language and suggestive themes that may be offensive to some readers.

Rapper Afroman made his first performance in Boone to a sold-out crowd at Dragonfly Theater & Pub Thursday.

The show was one of 23 stops comprising his current tour of visiting small venues and college campuses throughout the nation.

Afroman has released 11 studio albums, including 2001’s “The Good Times.”

The album sold over 500,000 copies and features his double platinum single “Because I Got High,” catapulting him into fame and earning him a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance in 2002.

Afroman, born Joseph Foreman, said his name spawned from a girl he knew while he attended junior college before eventually dropping out.

“She started calling me [Afroman] and it kind of caught on,” he said. “I was looking to the streets to name me. I didn’t want to name and be calling myself Poetic Paul.” 

Sheri L. Baker, owner of Dragonfly Theater & Pub, said no one of such caliber has ever graced the stage of the theater, and the show sold out early that afternoon.

She said Afroman initially showed interest in Boone as a location for one of his shows.

“He put on a really good show,” Lorrin E. Plyler, senior pre-professional legal studies major said. “He was very in tune with the crowd.”

Afroman said he was on vacation with his family in Myrtle Beach, S.C., when he first learned of Boone’s interest in his visit.

“I got spotted by a couple of cats on the beach,” Afroman said. “They were all pumped and amped to see me and I told the kid, [who] kept huffing and puffing about Boone, to [call] my booking agent. Like Pizza Hut delivers pizzas, I deliver parties.”

Colt 45 in hand, Afroman stormed the stage at approximately 12 a.m., sporting green Converse high-tops and a thick, gold chain adorned with a large marijuana leaf.

“[Dragonfly] was off the hook,” Afroman said. “It was beautiful. Honestly, there’s an interest in [Boone, N.C.] that I didn’t know about, but I was happy to tap into it.”

Afroman described his performance as one of his best shows.

“It’s in my hall of fame,” he said.

He commended the crowd for their enthusiasm and energy, who “rock[ed] with [him] from the beginning to the end.”

Afroman played a double neck guitar during several of his songs, embossed with a Colt 45 logo and marijuana leaves.

“I’ve been playing the guitar ever since I was a little kid,” he said.

Afroman credits Wyclef Jean for influencing him to rap and play guitar.

“I do it in my own, drunk, Colt 45 way,” he said, in reference to simultaneously rapping and playing guitar.

During the performance, Afroman dedicated one of his songs “to everyone in Boone who knows how to drink and drive.”

He also asked the crowd, “How many people want to get fu**** up with me tonight?” and thanked Boone for giving him a “legitimate job.”

Baker expressed interest in having Afroman return to the theater in the future.

 “He was thrilled and really happy with the show,” she said. After his performance, he thanked Baker for having him at the venue.

Tickets to his performance were $15 and a $2 cover charge was added for underage attendees.

Photo by Christy Bullins  |  The Appalachian

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