Grammy Winner to Speak Second Urban Music Symposium Set for March 15
Mar. 05, 2024
Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – The second Urban Music Symposium will be March 15 from 1-6 p.m. at the Mane Room, with recent Grammy award-winning and Billboard No. 1 platinum and gold selling producer, Luke Crowder, set to speak. Crowder has worked with notable artists including Drake, Lil Wayne, and Childish Gambino.“With the rich musical heritage of the Shoals area, UNA’s Department of Entertainment Industry, in partnership with UNA’s School of the Arts, the Mitchell-West Center for Social Inclusion, the Muscle Shoals Music Association, and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, is excited to host the Urban Music Symposium again this year,” said Janna Malone, Chair of the Department of Entertainment Industry. “With hip hop celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023, we are proud to honor the legacy and influence of the global culture of that genre.”
In addition to Crowder, Paul Diaz will also be a featured speaker. Diaz is a Grammy-nominated producer, engineer, and studio owner. He has worked with a number of renowned artists, including Elton John, OutKast, and the late Whitney Houston. Other presenters include Translee, a hip hop artists signed to rapper T.I.’s label; as well as producer and engineer Phillip Hudson, who has worked with Slayer and Three Six Mafia. Grammy award-winning producer Kelvin Wooten has joined the lineup of speakers, along with Huntsville native and independent researcher of modern culture Codie Gopher and GMANE, owner and operator of Alabama Hustle Unlimited.
“The UNA School of the Arts is delighted to co-sponsor the second year of the Urban Music Symposium,” said Dr. Meghan Merciers, Interim Assistant Dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering. “The Department of Entertainment Industry continues to cultivate valuable annual events for both our University and community at large.”
The event is free and open to the public and will include a screening of The Seven Two Experience.
About The University of North Alabama
The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.