The Mane Room buzzed with excitement in anticipation of the Urban Music Symposium presented by the UNA Department of Entertainment Industry.
On the Saturday of April 5, the Mane Room hosted the fourth annual Urban Music Symposium where many industry artists and workers got the chance to talk about their experiences in the business.
“It is an event here, where we bring industry professionals that work in the urban genre.” said Janna Malone, chair of the Department of Entertainment Industry. “We bring producers, Grammy award winners, engineers, artists and social media creators that work in that industry here to share their stories.”
The panel was led by Codie Gopher, who started the Urban Music Symposium at UNA. He emphasized the importance of Florence and Muscle Shoals in the urban music scene.
The topics and guest speakers included in the panel were Jordan Alston speaking about music & technology, Jay Black speaking about the rise of southern soul, DJ Burn One speaking about studio engineering, Adia and Gypsy Soul speaking about women in music and Brad Franklin speaking about southern hip-hop music.
The event was open to the public and offered refreshments to those who attended. After closing remarks, those who attended had the chance to mingle and network with like-minded individuals.
“I think it brings diversity to campus, which I feel is vital.” said Malone.“The university is known for its diversity because we have so many different nationalities and backgrounds from students, and this is just another way to educate the community on the influence of urban music.”
