‘Hip-Hop U’ Premieres on Wisconsin Public Television

Profiling the University of Wisconsin-Madison First Wave scholarship program, a new documentary from Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) shares the story of a first-of-its-kind scholarship program empowering students to pursue a degree while developing their skills in the hip-hop art forms of spoken word, rap, writing, poetry, singing, producing and acting.

Hip-Hop U: The First Wave Scholars premiered on WPT, Sept. 24. Featuring performances by, and interviews with, current and former students in the First Wave program, and insights from artistic leaders and administrators, the film showcases the innovative approach to creating a community of scholars around hip-hop and multicultural arts.

Since its first cohort arrived on the UW-Madison campus in June 2007, the scholarship program has inspired and empowered students from across the country to explore their artistic and academic passions, confront difficult realities facing underrepresented groups, and engage in activism around social justice issues at the university and in the community.

The full film is also available for free streaming online at wpt.org/hiphopu.