On February 20, DJ, producer, rapper, and songwriter Lou Phelps came to Oberlin and delivered one of the bounciest ‘Sco shows the campus has seen. He makes music under the subgenre of rap-house and has often worked in collaboration with his brother KAYTRANADA. Rap-house combines the danceable instrumental of house music with the lyrical ability of a rapper over top. KAYTRANADA is a producer who often makes these types of instrumentals for Phelps and other musicians as well.
Phelps’ talent for keeping the audience entertained and moving exhibits his love of the genre and for music. Throughout the performance he had the audience repeat the phrase “Do that s**t, do that s**t, do it!” back and forth with him — it was a way to make sure everyone was still with him and that they were engaged. This illustrates his love for the genre due to this being a common practice in African American music called call and response, one of the main foundations of hip/hop and rap. Using this during his set helps to illustrate how much he cares about the genre and the doors it has been able to open for him. In some scenarios people think that the history and the reason why rap is here is dying off, but Phelps helps to demonstrate that the history is still alive and well.
A definite standout in his set was “IS MY MIC ON?” from his 2025 album Chèlbè which was executive produced by KAYTRANADA. In normal KAYTRANADA fashion, this instrumental has a four on the floor pattern with the kick drum hitting every four beats as he samples an early 80s funk record “Can’t Get Away (From Your Love)” by Carol Williams. In this song, Phelps says, “I don’t know what they told you / Imma do this for the culture / Imma do what I’m supposed to.” This again doubles down on the fact that his love for his culture and rap music is what’s really driving him to do what he does.
Finishing his stint behind the mic after 50 minutes, Phelps asked the crowd if they wanted to hear him DJ. This was met with loud applause and he went on to show off his prowess. During this brief set, he played some of his brother’s older music as well as music from artists like Chance the Rapper, but he did not lose the bouncy, dance feeling that his music instilled in the crowd. Each track felt as light and groovy as the next and helped to keep people moving on the dance floor.
All in all this was an amazing show that helped to bring even more sounds to the already musically diverse campus. There is not a lot of rap-house circulating around Oberlin, and you could tell that this show made everyone in the venue excited and wanting more.
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