VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY APPOINTS VISITING SCHOLAR & ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
FOR HIP HOP STUDIES
VUU’S Hip Hop studies program selects Regan Sommer McCoy and Radio B for appointments during
the 2022-2023 academic year.
October 2022 – The #HipHopatVUU program has selected Regan Sommer McCoy as Visiting Scholar and Radio B as Artist In Residence for the 2022-2023 academic year. Both have previously participated in Hip Hop programming at VUU. McCoy was a guest speaker in the Spring 2022 lecture series curated by Martha Diaz, VUU’s Visiting Scholar for 2021-2022, and Radio B has been a keynote speaker for the university’s Research & Creative Inquiry Expo.
About Regan Sommer McCoy
Regan Sommer McCoy is a NYC-based curator and community archivist. Her career began working with Virginia Beach Hip Hip duo Clipse. She is founder and Chief Curator of The Mixtape Museum, an initiative that encourages research, archiving, preservation, and data analysis of mixtapes. She is a Columbia University Community Scholar, a grantee of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and a charter member of the William & Mary Hip-Hop Collection. McCoy is a 2022 Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Research Grantee, and her article “Mixtape Memories: Hip-Hop Community and Culture at NYC’s Mixtape Museum” is published in the ARSC Journal (2021). She works at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Creative Social Impact, and her work has been featured in Tape Op, Oprah Daily, Columbia University News, and the Economist.
During McCoy’s appointment as Visiting Scholar, she will expand The Mixtape Museum’s Mixtape Memory Collection to include Virginia-based mixtape memories and develop course curriculum on Mixtape Scholarship and Clipse.
About Radio B
Radio B is a Southside, Richmond veteran Hip Hop artist who spent close to 20 years performing throughout the east coast and helped build Richmond’s own local Hip Hop culture. He has released a substantial and lengthy catalog of content heavy, introspective and lyric driven music. His newest album “Stop Looking For Noise” is now available on all digital platforms. Radio B is responsible for creating platforms for artists such as RVA Rap Elite, Southpaw Battle Coalition, Radio B & Friends, and AGM’s Flag On The Moon annual concert series. He is also the clothing designer responsible for Richmond’s Own Clothing, Mama Jo’s Collection and the Kill The Dreamer brand. His work is featured in The Source, Revolt, BET Jams, Okay Player and other national publications. Radio B is also the subject of a mural on Broad Street in Richmond that features himself surrounded by the many names of slain victims of police brutality. Radio B has established himself as a significant leader in hip hop culture and continues to push his peers and upcoming artists to raise the quality bar in their writing, music composition, live events, and performances. He continues to be an ambassador for the city and the community through music, fashion and outreach.
During Radio B’s appointment as Artist In Residence, he will be curating writing workshops, producer workshops, and RVA Rap Elite events for VUU students.
About Hip Hop at VUU
Hip Hop at VUU is dedicated to exploring African American history and culture through a Hip Hop lens. This exploration is seen through the development of courses, workshops, symposiums, and archives that help expose Virginia Union University students and the Richmond, VA community to the sonic, visual, and material culture of hip-hop to help us understand the meaning-making experiences of African American people.
