Cell phone flash lights illuminated McAfee Gym Saturday night during EIU’s Got Talent after rapper Mo the Poet asked the audience to shut off the florescent yellow lights and turn the gym into “a city of bright lights.”

Mo the Poet, a sophomore psychology major who preferred to go by her stage name, won first place at the talent show because of her interaction with the audience and her relationship to the South Side of Chicago that she revealed in her song.

“I come from a city of bright lights,” she told audience members, instructing them to take out their phones and turn on the flashlight.

Though it was not her first time performing in front of an audience, she said it was her first time performing, performing, and winning at the annual talent show.

“I’m excited, honestly,” she said. “I would do it again all the time.”

Mo the Poet was one of several performers who braved the judges and competed for a chance to place first at the EIU’s Got Talent show.

There were eight different acts during the show as well as a performance from the African Student Association dancers.

Despite the hour and a half delay as a result of the overwhelming heat that engulfed the gym, audience members remained entertained with music, pizza and friends.

From dancing to poetry to rapping, the audience roared after each performance.

Briana Wesley, who goes by the stage name Mocha Bee, also performed one of her original songs during the talent show and said she was beyond nervous.

“Now that it is over with, I can enjoy the show,” Wesley said after her performance.

Wesley said it was the third time she performed her song titled “Take Your Time” which is about self-motivation.

“(The song is) letting me know that I can take my time,” Wesley said. “I tend to move fast and it is a way to remind myself to take my time and do it right.”

Wesley said she writes poems in her free time, which evolve into song lyrics that she performs as raps. She said this song was the most developed out of all her poems.

“I take pride (in my writing),” she said. “I wouldn’t call myself a rapper, I’m just into that type of music and I enjoy writing. It’s like my hobby.”

During intermission, audience members swarmed the floor dancing along to the DJ’s choice and turning the talent show into a full-blown dance.

Mia Calloway, a freshman pre-nursing major, and Lauren King, a freshman public relations major, said they went to the performance to show support for their friends.

“I’m just out here to just have a good time,” Calloway said. “I haven’t really been out to any parties so I’m just trying to have a good time on the weekend.”

Vuye Magalela, a freshman biology and pre-med major, said she sang from her soul during her performance and recommends anyone who wants to perform but is too afraid, to do the same whenever they get the chance.

“I really don’t care if I win,” Magalela said. “I just want to sing.”

Analicia Haynes can be reached at 581-2812 or achaynes@eiu.edu.