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GREENSBORO — N.C. A&T may have pulled out of its annual concert at the Greensboro Coliseum , but homecoming will be alive and well on campus this weekend.

The school is banking on guests like poet Maya Angelou and R&B group The Temptations Review as officials begin to re-brand homecoming as more about the school and less about the party.

Earlier this month, A&T students began to complain about one of the headlining acts at the homecoming concert — a gang-affiliated rapper called Gucci Mane . Because of lyrics that glorify gangs, drugs and violence, many felt the rapper’s message was at odds with the mission of the university.

Chancellor Harold Martin made the decision to pull A&T’s name and financial support from the concert. Praising the students who spoke out on the issue, Martin said he wanted the homecoming celebration — which draws thousands to the city every year — to be a better reflection of the school and its values.

Famed poet and author Maya Angelou will be the keynote speaker at Thursday’s Fall Convocation . Angelou has won Grammy awards for spoken-word versions of her writing and has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize , a Tony Award and the National Book Award . She may be best known as the author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” the first of her series of autobiographical books that examine race, class, gender and sexual abuse.

The convocation, at Harrison Auditorium on campus, will begin at 10 a.m. The event is free and open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-served basis.

On Friday night, the school will host a homecoming concert starring The Temptations Review, featuring Dennis Edwards, who joined The Temptations in 1968.

Edwards replaced original Temptations lead singer David Ruffin and led the group through one of its most popular periods, garnering Grammy awards for hit songs like “Cloud Nine” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.”

The event will be held at the Koury Convention Center with a buffet reception at 6:30 p.m. and the show beginning at 8 p.m.

Individual tickets are $120 and reserved tables go for $1,200, $2,500 and $5,000. Tickets are still available through the A&T ticket office, which can be reached at 433-5551.

Also on Friday, A&T will host a homecoming step show at 7:30 p.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum.

For more details, visit A&T’s Web site: www.ncat.edu.

Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com