Drumma Boy Explains His University Of Memphis Scholarship Fund

Producer Drumma Boy is all about paying it forward.

During a recent interview with HipHopDX, Drumma Boy detailed his decision to collaborate with his father on the James and Christopher Gholson Scholarship Fund for students at the University of Memphis.

The fund is an annual scholarship awarded to students majoring in Woodwinds or Commercial Music at the university.

Drumma revealed that his father, a retired professor and professional clarinetist, motivated him to take part.

"That was really my father, just trying to pass his legacy [on]," Drumma Boy said. "He saw my connection with kids and the impact that I make with the youth and was like, 'We should do a scholarship together for students who are capable, "A" and "B" students, coming out of high-school who are looking for scholarship opportunities playing clarinet.' So it's a clarinet scholarship, just to pretty much, like I said, pass on my father's legacy, to pass on the musicianship and to be one of the first Black scholarship available at University of Memphis."

The site also reports that Drumma's father has a deep rooted connection with the school. According to a University of Memphis newsletter published in 2012, Dr. James Gholson Jr., became the first African-American professor at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music in 1972. The producer's father says he has a lifelong commitment to the arts.

"I thought in high-school that I wanted to be a musician," he said. "By college, it was a very serious goal. But it requires extreme dedication to pursue a career in the arts." Not speaking directly to the scholarship fund that bears his name, Gholson added, "Everyone should have exposure to the arts and to music."

In addition, Drumma Boy himself attended the University of Memphis as a Music Business major.

Read more about Drumma Boy's scholarship fund and how to apply here.