UNDERGROUND MUSIC
ACADEMY
DETROIT BASED MUSIC ACADEMY.
UNDERGROUND MUSIC ACADEMY
THE GENESIS
The concept for the Underground Music Academy is one that had been bubbling in the minds of the team of community leaders in the North End of Detroit for years.
Borne from their shared experiences informally mentoring up-and-coming Detroit artists, as well as touring the world as professional musicians and multidisciplinary visionaries, the team saw the potential of creating something local in Detroit that could connect to their global community.
The idea became reality in 2015, when the organization acquired a historic building that once served as the headquarters for the NAACP in Detroit’s North End.
With staff safety our top priority, and global supply chain breakdowns resulting in unpredictable materials shortages, our construction schedule faced delays and work stoppages. We’ve shifted to an agile approach to minimize further delays as the world slowly returns to some version of normal, with plans to open the doors to our physical space in 2023
As our construction team works to finish building, we’re also making progress elsewhere: everything from research and refinement of curriculum via focus groups to setting up the infrastructure to hit the ground running when we open our digital and physical doors.
THE PRESENT
Like nearly everyone else, our 2020 didn’t quite go as planned.
The Future
The Underground Music Academy mission to build the future leaders of electronic music through education and mentorship remains, but we’re thinking bigger.
Our dream is to create a more inclusive global dance music community that’s more aware of its roots. We will start online, reaching students from around the world, until it's safe to offer a best-in-class educational experience in-person in Detroit..
Phase 1: Construction
Work on our physical space in Detroit’s North End continues. We’re working as quickly as we can while maintaining safe operating procedures to make up for lost time.
Phase 2: Content & Curriculum
Curriculum development is underway for both online and in-person classes. We have a slightly different approach to education than the myriad online schools, built from years of experience – we’re working to formalize this approach for consistency without losing the proverbial magic.
Phase 3: Grand Opening
Online and in-person preview events are being planned to introduce our physical and digital experiences in the run-up before we officially open our physical doors in 2023.
The Underground Music Academy is 100% independently owned & operated.
We’ve eschewed traditional outside investment because it’s in our DNA to do things ourselves, with help from our community – even if it’s the harder road.
In November of 2020 we had our first road of fundraising and were overwhelmed by the public support. This initial round of public funding, matched with our own investment, allowed us to ramp up construction, complete the legal obligations to properly establish ourselves as a business, and begin website development to prepare for our launch.
Our summer fundraiser launches on Freedom Day, Juneteenth (June 19th) 2021, with the goal of raising $25,000 to continue our Phase 1 construction.
Waajeed, Director
If you believe in our mission of helping build the next generation of electronic music artists & bringing the originality, quality, & diversity back to the forefront, we hope you will consider contributing.
