Underground Music Academy congratulates the artists selected for our Spring 2026 Scholarship Cohort

​​​​​This semester’s recipients represent a wide range of creative practices, perspectives, and emerging voices from across our community and beyond. Each individual demonstrated a strong commitment to artistic growth, clear creative direction, and a readiness to fully engage with UMA’s learning environment.

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Scholarship recipients were selected based on several factors, including:

• Artistic vision and creative potential

• Demonstrated commitment to growth and development

• Alignment with UMA’s community-centered values

• Clarity of goals and creative direction

• Readiness to actively participate in the cohort experience

• Thoughtfulness and specificity within the application process

 

We also strongly valued applicants who communicated a genuine connection to community, experimentation, collaboration, and long-term artistic development.

 

We’re honored to support this next group of artists, DJs, producers, and cultural workers as they continue developing their practices through our online program.

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This semester's scholars are as follow:

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Full Scholars:

• Michal Serr

• OMO

• killersweetooth

• rickybaubau

• WE1SMAN

• Simisola

• KWR

• MDWAVZ

• MVG

• venxusloc

• AIDEL

• Madre Guía

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Partial Scholars:

• Samuel Sprague

• Parafina

• King Sophia

• eño

• Ausar

• Ube One

• RAEDY LEX

• J Bishop

• Augustus Williams

• Disc Jockey George

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To Those Who Applied​

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We recognize the vulnerability and effort it takes to apply, share your work, and speak honestly about where you are in your journey. The volume of strong applications this semester made the selection process incredibly difficult. Not being selected is not a reflection of your value, talent, or future potential. Many strong applications simply exceeded the number of scholarships we were able to offer this term. We strongly encourage you to reapply next semester.

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Stay Connected​

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Applications for our Summer Online 2026 Cohort will open later this year. If you’d like to be notified when scholarships and enrollment open, sign up for updates below.

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Thank you to everyone who applied and to everyone who continues supporting Underground Music Academy’s mission to cultivate the next generation of creative voices rooted in Detroit’s musical legacy.

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Sign up to get notified about Summer 2026 scholarship announcements here:​