Mura Masa headlines Conquest


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Mura Masa headlined Conquest, with DJ_Dave as the opener. At the end of the night, fireworks lit up the sky, building anticipation for Saturday’s game. (Photo by and courtesy of Juan Miche Rosales (@juanprovides))

The rivalry was heated as ever, with hundreds of Trojans chanting “UCLA SUCKS!” as the Spirit of Troy opened the night with the Trojan fanfare — a tune most students can hum in their sleep — at Conquest Thursday. Clad in cardinal and gold, the band rocked the excited gathering while the USC football team took the stage. 

USC redshirt senior offensive lineman Justin Dedich and sophomore defensive back Calen Bullock passionately rallied the crowd to show up for Saturday’s game against UCLA. The victory bell at the Rose Bowl has been blue for a year now, which is “one too many,” Dedich and Bullock reminded the crowd. Trojans jumped up and down with hands in the air as the team threw t-shirts into the audience. 

But this was just the beginning. The hungry crowd was about to feast as several student organizations took the stage, putting their Trojan spirit, excellent dancing and musical skills on full display. Many groups performed, but what the onlooking crowd got most excited about were the dance troops — the Cardinal Divas, Break Through, USC Cheer, and Spade A Dance. 

The audience, which flocked around the stage and featured hundreds of “fucla” shirts, was jolted with electricity when these groups took the stage. The Cardinal Divas, USC’s first majorette team, electrified the event with their stunning performance and connection with the audience. Crowd members mimicked the Divas’ signature moves and called for an encore as soon as the music ended. Alas, there was no time for a repeat performance as so many other groups were still lined up. 

The diversity of USC’s talent was on full display as Spade A Dance, USC’s K-pop dance crew, and Mariachi Los Troyanos de USC, USC’s official mariachi band, took the stage after the Divas. The enthralling lineup seemed never-ending, with performances from USC Cheer and Break Through, USC’s hip-hop dance team, as well. 

Once this captivating set of performances was over, the crowd had a chance to take a breather and check out the ferris wheel and food trucks set up at McCarthy Quad. This laid-back environment did not last for long, however. 

Students rushed back to the stage when New York City-based artist DJ_Dave lit up the stage with her electronic-pop music. Her tunes are like no other because she uses code to make her music — a style called algorave. In front of the frenzied crowds in McCarthy Quad, she live-coded music while mixing it at the same time. She summoned songs live on-stage via her laptop screen, which was projected behind her. In front of a future-psych background, she immersed the audience in her funky algorave music, accompanied by singer Maddy Davis’ vocals.

The beats were not coming to a close anytime soon. After DJ_Dave bowed out with her hit tracks, GRAMMY award winner Mura Masa, a multi-instrumentalist electronic-pop artist, took the stage. Mura Masa has worked with an impressive slate of artists including chart-toppers like Stormzy, Charli XCX, A$AP Rocky and PinkPantheress. The audience and Mura Masa vibed together in synergy as the artist played his hit songs like “1 Night” featuring Charli XCX and “Love$ick” featuring A$AP Rocky.  

This year, Conquest was a jubilant occasion. The night closed with fireworks as hundreds of excited Trojans rallied to support the football team in their matchup against the Bruins at the Rose Bowl. Their best wishes and prayers came to fruition, as the Trojans beat the Bruins in an exhilarating match 48-45 Saturday.