Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor
Zack Fox — actor, rapper, DJ and comedian — dazzled nearly 1,000 people at the Activities Programming Board’s 2026 RamFest at the VCU Student Commons plaza on Thursday.
The APB hosts events for students all year round, and usually ends the school year off with a celebration headlined by big-name artists. Last year, they hosted their take on a Tiny Desk concert headlined by Rico Nasty, with opener Jay Irvine who performed again this year.
Irvine was accompanied by Kwajo and SH1NOB1 on mic, with Aidan Kohn playing guitar and Justin Dono mixing it up on the sound board.
Dono is 22 and started experimenting with DJing 11 years ago alongside Irvine.
“This is crazy, like we actually almost made it. You know? The DJ set I was using was like a CDJ mixing setup. That was my dream setup when I was a 6th grader. So this is a full circle thing,” Dono said.
The events are a part of the APB’s annual Havoc Week, a tradition to round-out the end of the school year. In 2023 they invited Young Nudy to headline, took a break from the big names in 2024 and then started RamFest back up again with Rico Nasty.
This year the APB was able to admit twice as many students, according to Sensiere-Yanti Thompkins-Harris, coordinator for Student Programming & APB advisor. There were 980 people in attendance. 900 of them were students and 80 of them were volunteers, artists and their crews, media personnel and staff, a few of whom were students.
“I really like him [Zack Fox] as a DJ, he’s very versatile and I feel like he can just bring a good vibe anywhere,” said third-year psychology student Jailah Chapman.
Usually the headliner is picked by the board, but this year they opened a survey up to students — helping them land on the decision to invite Fox, according to host and 2026-27 Senior Divinity elect Kamari Pineda.
“I think Zach Fox was just the most appealing to a lot of students, as far as his range,” Pineda said. “Zach Fox is more of a performer and entertainer rather than just a straightforward rapper.”
VCU has seen a lot of big name artists come to campus. In 2014, Wiz Khalifa and Chevy Woods, Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean and Outasight performed at the homecoming concert. The year prior J. Cole and Wale paid a visit, and Drake stopped by in 2010.
“I think that the artists kind of represent the era that we’re in,” Pineda said. “A lot of them, traditionally, they were heading either right before they were going to, quote unquote, blow up or as they were blowing up. It’s not to the peak of where they are now and their staples and their respected craft.”
Pineda hosted alongside Yamarie Kamara, a VCU alumna from the class of 2022. Kamara sees Fox’s personality as true to himself, and feels that many VCU students embody that same trait.
Fox entered the public eye in 2013, gaining popularity on Twitter. He started expanding into film and music in 2017 and 2018. He became known for his freestyle session with producer Kenny Beats. Appearing on Beats’ youtube series “The Cave,” they recorded “Jesus is the One (I Got Depression),” talking about sticking a certain body part in Thousand Island Dressing.
In 2021 he became a household name with his role of Tariq in “Abbott Elementary.” Since then, he has been recognized for his contributions through various artistic and comedic outlets. In a talk Fox gave at Georgetown University, he described how being Black in America impacts his work — seeing himself as a jester, peeling away at accepted social ideas.
Fox ended the night by thanking young people for being the future, encouraging that they will make it, even if things in the country seem bleak.
“I love y’all, have a great night. My name is Zack Fox, keep dancing. Dance music is Black music, music is Black music. I don’t give a f***. Good-bye, I love you,” Fox said.