A one-minute performance by Florida A&M University’s Marching 100 to Ludacris’ new single “Pull Over” was enough to attract the Grammy-winning rapper to campus to see the “incomparable” band for himself.
The Marching 100 released an April 13 video of its performance as part of a viral social media campaign called the “Pull Over Challenge,” where Ludacris invited HBCU marching bands and college students to perform to his new, high-energy song. Five days later, the rapper posted an Instagram video of him pulling up to FAMU’s campus.
“I told my uncle gas up the jet – I’m going down to Tallahassee to show them my appreciation,” Ludacris said in the April 18 Instagram video post.
Grammy-winning rapper Ludacris visits FAMU’s Marching 100 after the band performed the “Pull Over Challenge,” a viral social media campaign promoting his new single.
While Ludacris’ new single was released earlier this month, a FAMU spokesperson said the Marching 100’s performance to the rapper’s challenge was filmed on Jan. 28. Details on the performance being filmed on a date prior to the song’s release and the social media challenge’s launch are unclear, and the performance was not publicized during the time it was filmed.
FAMU alumnus and noted Hollywood producer Will Packer accompanied Ludacris to the university for his visit, and while on campus, the two celebrities danced along with the Marching 100 as the student band members performed the challenge together.
“Luda said, ‘Will, what is the best HBCU in all the land?’ I said I don’t know about all the land, but I know about all the world, and there is only one,” Packer said in an Instagram video post. “In all the world, there is only one – the Florida A&M University.”
As Packer is one of FAMU’s most celebrated alumni, the Will Packer Performing Arts Amphitheater on campus – a $2 million outdoor venue just south of Lee Hall – bears his name after it officially opened in October 2021 and is the main site of attraction during Set Friday, a weekly tradition where students gather to browse vendors, enjoy food and socialize.
FAMU alumnus and Hollywood producer Will Packer visits FAMU’s Marching 100 after the band performed the “Pull Over Challenge,” a viral social media campaign promoting rapper Ludacris’ new single.
In the social media video, the Marching 100’s first female head drum major Oluwamodupe “Dupe” Oloyede − a senior and theater performance major who recently performed at the 2026 Oscars − is seen leading the band in the performance.
The opportunity comes after the FAMU Marching 100 band has had a couple other acclaimed appearances, such as its performance of “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” in February to kick off a promo campaign for Lionsgate’s film “Michael,” a biopic of pop icon Michael Jackson that premiered in theaters April 24. The band also recently performed to the song “Victory,” which was composed by Grammy-winning rapper Common as the theme song for Amazon’s Prime Video’s NBA on Prime.
Related news: Florida A&M’s Marching 100 kicks off Michael Jackson film promo
Prior to the FAMU band’s acceptance of the viral challenge, Clark Atlanta University’s band – the Mighty Marching Panthers – shared a 38-second performance to the new song on April 4, which led Ludacris to visit the CAU campus afterward as well.
Ludacris’ new song “Pull Over” is available on all streaming platforms.
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ludacris visits FAMU marching band after “Pull Over Challenge” video