The northwest corner outside Assembly Hall was crowded with orange and blue-clad Illini fans hours before the final men’s basketball home game of the season on Saturday. Some members of Orange Krush, the student cheering section for the men’s basketball games, pitched tents outside Assembly Hall and camped out the night before in order to get a choice spot in line. This type of dedication and determination to be the best Illini fans possible is the reason local rapper Brad “Big Hit Buda” Turner, chose to showcase the Orange Krush in his music video for “Tha Illini Re-mix,” which he filmed in Champaign on Saturday, using the northwest corner as his background.

“We wanted to capture the craziness of the Orange Krush,” said Sean “Shawn til Dawn” Turner, Buda’s younger brother and co-writer of “Tha Illini Re-mix.” “I don’t think people understand how serious U of I basketball is, and I just want to let them know.”

Shawn said the music video would be for promotional use only, and if the school wanted to use it or if people wanted to download it, they could visit Buda’s Web site, where it should be available by March 3.

Jamie Postlewait, freshman in Business and member of Orange Krush, was one of the students who slept overnight outside Assembly Hall. She and her friends were painting their faces with orange and blue paint while electronic equipment and two 3,000 watt speakers were set up for the video.

“I think it’s a really great idea,” Postlewait said about Buda inviting students to be in the music video. “I think it’s awesome to get students involved, and it’s recognition for Orange Krush.”

Brittany Falconio, freshman in LAS, said she thought the idea to film the music video outside the hall was awesome and she would definitely participate in it.

“I don’t know how other schools do it,” Falconio said of student cheering sections elsewhere. “But Orange Krush is huge.”

It is that type of enthusiasm and commitment to the team that helped inspire Buda and his brother to write the rap.

Buda said he had the idea to write the original rap, “Tha Illini,” about the men’s basketball team last year while the team was still undefeated, but he and Shawn held off because they did not want to jinx the team. They also did not want to write a rap in which the lyrics might be outdated. It was not until after Illinois’s unforgettable overtime victory against Arizona on March 26, 2005 that the brothers were convinced they had to write the rap.

It took them one night to write and record the first rap in a recording studio in Bloomington, Ill. The song features commentary from an Illini basketball game, as well as sampling from the basketball band and sounds of actual fans cheering during a game.

The brothers, originally from Normal, Ill., are not alumni of the University, but said their grandmother attended the school. Illini pride has been a tradition in their family for years.

“I’ve been a fan since I could walk,” Buda said, sporting an orange and blue Illinois ski cap and an orange t-shirt with the phrase “Deeeee for three” on it.

Shawn and Buda said they wrote “Tha Illini Re-mix” for this basketball season after Illinois beat North Carolina on Nov. 29, 2005. Buda said he waited specifically until after that game just so they could add a line about defeating the team that beat Illinois last season for the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship.

“This year, got revenge on the heels,” Buda raps. “On top of that, we did it in Chapel Hill.”

While Shawn and Buda both hold full-time jobs, they have plans to pursue rap professionally and eventually concentrate fully on their music. Shawn works as manager, collaborator and writer, while Buda is the main rapper and performer. The brothers work independently. Buda said he has talked to some music labels, but does not want to commit to one yet. One of the brothers’ upcoming projects is a compilation CD they put together called “Strictly Bangaz,” which is due out next month and features Buda’s songs plus musical artists from central Illinois, Chicago and Iowa.

For now, Buda is concentrating on the video he just filmed. He had planned to finish it earlier than March 3, but decided not to rush the editing process because he wanted it to be done right.

“Everything turned out great,” Buda said. “We got some live shots of people going crazy. It was definitely what we were looking for.”

He encourages people to visit the site and download “Tha Illini Re-mix” and any of his other songs for free. He said he and his brother write the songs for the fans, and they keep track of how often the songs are downloaded.

“A lot of people know us from our sports songs,” Buda said. “And our original music is just as bangin’ and just as hot as that.”