Students celebrated the final day of the 15th Annual Rhythms Music Festival in an explosive performance by Bay Area rap legends Mike Sherm and P-Lo at Annex 1.
On Saturday night, students began lining up as early as 5 p.m. for a slice of the action. Complete with a Señor Sisig food truck and custom airbrush station, AS turned the plastic quonset on North State Drive into a full-on festival ground.
Past Rhythms lineups have included heavy hitters like Daya, Destroy Lonely and Lupe Fiasco. Despite the notorious repertoire that has graced campus, none hit the Bay Area as hard as two of their own.
Toting a custom Mike Sherm airbrushed tote bag reminiscent of the early 2000s, sophomore film major Deanna Torno-Richers waited patiently for doors to open at the front of the line. Torno-Richers explained the significance of Mike Sherm, growing up in Fresno.
“Where I’m from, he’s really popular. I grew up listening to him,” Torno-Richers said. “It’s like in 2019, if you didn’t listen to him, you weren’t nobody.”
Antioch-raised Sherm rose to popularity as early as 2011 when he started his YouTube channel. In 2014, Sherm released his first song “Backshots.” Since the initial introductions to the sphere of fame, Sherm has taken off for his creative lyrics and in-your-face personality.
Associated Students hosts Rhythms annually, and the voting process caters to gauging student interest. Back in November 2025, students voted for their headliners from a stacked lineup of options, including Too Short, Sob x RBE and none other than Mike Sherm.
When tickets went live on March 16 at noon, they sold out in less than 15 minutes, leaving students begging for more tickets in the comment sections of AS’ Instagram posts leading up to Rhythms to little avail. The sold-out event proved its grandiose with sprawling lines.
Anticipation continued to build as students funneled into the venue at a steady trickle, warming up to the winner of Rhythms’ student DJ competition C4BBIT with boosted electronic bass flooding from the stage. The bass continued thumping as AERODYNAMIC, winner of Rhythms’ battle of the bands, took the stage with a soulful genre-bending set that mixed funk with punk. As the music grew increasingly frantic, students grew anxious for the main act.
Looking around, it was difficult to tell the environment of Annex 1 from a hyphy-era kickback, as students smeezed in an act of true Bay Area excellence.
Justin Aquino, a sophomore biology major, didn’t consider himself knowledgeable about P-Lo or Mike Sherm prior to Rhythms. Originally hailing from Daly City, this year’s lineup makes Aquino swell with pride.
“I’ve never felt so represented,” Aquino said. “I love student life. I love being social. I just like watching people have fun, and I like being a part of that. It’s beautiful.”
Aquino’s passion for student life carried through the sets of both P-Lo and Mike Sherm as they magnetized a condensed body of students towards the stage. Despite being a famous rapper, P-Lo’s lyrics carried wisdom even students can relate to.
As P-Lo demanded hands up and bouncing from the crowd, attendees chanted “Going hella dumb with my friends” from his track “Walked In.” The crowd’s passion carried not only in lyricism, but in P-Lo’s emphasis on pride for Bay Area natives.
P-Lo took a gracious exit from the stage as students awaited the main act. Orange lights flooded Annex 1 as Mike Sherm transformed the student event venue into a hyphy palace. Sherm’s lewd lyrics lived up to major internet hype as students recited “Squirt Squad Cream Team” by heart. He delivered a hearty dose of Bay Area anthems of self-confidence and grit as the crowd existed in a constant state of awe and hype.
At a university made up of a staggering 88.5% commuters, seeing stars from the same soil only furthers the possibilities coming out of the Bay Area and SFSU.
While Tyra Walker, a fourth year criminal justice student, is not originally from the Bay Area, she feels particularly connected when she listens to Mike Sherm. Originally hailing from Modesto, Walker has called San Francisco her home for the last four years while attending SFSU.
“Mike Sherm is so important to me because he makes music that really connects people with each other,” Walker said. “I feel like his music can be listened to by anyone and everyone. I really like listening to him because it makes me feel really close to my community here in the Bay Area.”
