HipHopGrewUp founder Bavu Blakes is deliberately walking through the intersection of Hip Hop, education and spirituality. The scholar emcee is a 7th grade humanities teacher who tutors, mentors, leads emcee workshops and men’s fellowships, and hosts community events including concerts.

The University of Texas at Austin broadcast journalism graduate is also an award-winning Hip Hop artist whose studio collaborators include Grammy winners Adrian Quesada, Symbolyc One (S1) & Gary Clark Jr., as well as people’s champ Paul Wall.