In just two short days, the ears of every North Carolina fan will be bombarded with the relentless fury of Death Valley natives shouting “Tiger Bait” with reckless abandon in every direction.
But local rap group Da Future has crafted its own hip-hop song based on the chant.
The song is titled “Tiger Bait” and was written by Da Future, comprised of former University students Eron Rousell, Brian McCollum and Tony Smith. The band wrote the song during the 2009 football season.
 
Rousell said the surging popularity of New Orleans Saints football-themed songs inspired the group to write a unique song for LSU.
 
“Everybody had all these Saints songs and things like that … What if we wrote one for LSU?” Rousell said.
 
The song features popular football chants, and it samples the Tiger Band.
 
Smith believes the song’s originality sets it apart from any other LSU-related songs, like popular mash-ups of Tiger Band songs with other hip-hop songs like “Crank That.”
 
“We did the same thing, but we actually made a song that has to do with the LSU name … so people can actually sing the words,” Smith said.
 
The group has been hard at work promoting the single, which has been officially licensed by the University.
 
Rousell hopes the song will eventually have a fan base large enough to have the song played in Tiger Stadium.
 
“There has to be more of a fan base asking for it before they can start playing it at the football games,” Rousell said. “That’s what we hope to accomplish. That’s what I really want to do with the song.”
 
Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing Craig Pintens, who approves what songs are played in Tiger Stadium, said the ultimate goal in selecting songs for football games is audience approval.
 
“We want to play songs that are going to resonate with the fans and the players,” Pintens said. “We have to play songs that are going to be loved by everyone in the stadium.”
Pintens also said stereo tracks will always take a backseat to the Tiger Band.
 
“Canned music to us is no substitute at all for the Golden Band from Tigerland,” Pintens said. “That’s always our first choice.”
 
Rousell said Da Future has no intention of muscling in on the Tiger Band, and though they are pushing for the song to be played in the stadium, they don’t want to take anything away from the band.
 
Rousell hopes the song may eventually be popular enough to merit collaboration between Da Future and the Tiger Band.
 
“We could do a halftime show one game performing the song with the band playing,” Rousell said. “It’s something different that hasn’t been done at the school before.”
 
Mary Carole, Spanish junior,  said listening to the song makes her feel excited.
 
“It’s a little corny, but the song would definitely get me in the mood for game day,” Carole said.
 
Katelyn Wood, English and Spanish junior,  also said she thinks the song is catchy and could definitely see the song played on game days.
 
“It reminds me a lot of the songs that came out about the Saints last year,” Wood said.
Ni Tyjah Thigpen, linguistics graduate student,  said she could see the song catching on beyond football games.
 
“It’s got a dance beat you can move to,” Thigpen said. “So I could see somebody requesting it in a club and everybody dancing.”
 
 
 
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Contact Andrew Price at [email protected]