The Space Program, a hip-hop collective of more than two dozen Black, collegiate artists and entrepreneurs from across Oklahoma, recently released the album “Curriculum of the Mind,” which was celebrated April 25 with a showcase at ACM@UCO Performance Lab.

Christopher G. Acoff, aka Original Flow

Among others, the TSP collective features UCO-tied alumni and students, including audio engineer Myles Adams; Christopher G. Acoff, aka Original Flow, who earned a Music Business degree at ACM@UCO; ACM Contemporary Music Production graduate James Curd, aka Deezy; and UCO student Makeen Khalifa, aka Makeen.

Portions of TSP’s debut video for the album’s title track were recorded on the UCO campus in Edmond.

“The true essence of this dissertation album was the ability to see the progression of students, particularly ACM students (e.g. artists, poets, rappers, producers, audio engineers, etc.), come together and masterfully create something that will forever be timeless, both in the hip-hop and educational communities,” said TSP’s CEO, DJ and producer Dr. View, aka Stevie Johnson, who is also the former Assistant Director of Diversity Retention in the Office of Diversity & Inclusion at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Stevie Johnson, aka DJ and producer Dr. View

He also recently received his Ph.D in Higher Education Administration from the University of Oklahoma.

“Many studies do not allow students to authentically express themselves in ways that speak to their epistemological and ontological perspectives. The fortitude, resilience and innovation of these students developed a new avenue of hip-hop scholarship that academia not only has to respect, but that will be used as a blueprint for educators for years to come,” Johnson said.

“In short, these students is helping the world recognize that hip-hop and education can and will work together for the betterment of creating social change,” he added.

Buddy Broncho

Buddy Broncho made his first appearance in UCO's own newspaper The Vista. It was the October 3, 1932, issue where a Broncho appears wearing a UCO football uniform. He has appeared numerous times throughout the years from local Edmond papers in the 60's to state-wide papers in the 80's. The commissioning of the first ever live mascot appears in UCO's 1979 Bronze Book where Buddy Broncho made his first public appearance at Homecoming. Since that time, Buddy has been a fixture at UCO events and in the hearts of UCO students.