Communication Alum Creates Cypher, Promotes Success

I love being black, black is who I am, the fact that black lives matter really assured my plan. 

—Willie Bennett, 23, A&S, COMM 16

Willie Bennett didn’t start his career at the University of Cincinnati as a rapper, but he did end it that way. The McMicken College of Arts & Sciences' communication alumnus directed and starred in a group rap video focused on racial equality at the university. 

The video features Bennett and four other seniors who first performed the cypher for Collegiate 100, a group of black male student leaders and mentors. The cypher’s repeated refrain, “Irate 8, Let’s Be Great,” refers to the group’s involvement with student activists who organized in the wake of the death of Samuel DuBose, who was killed by a UC police officer last summer. The group took its name from the percentage of African American students then enrolled as students on UC’s Uptown campus.

“I feel like it’s my duty and my obligation to speak upon what needs to be spoken upon,” said Bennett, who mapped out a clear direction for the mostly black-and-white video, in which he and fellow rappers walk the halls of Tangeman University Center. In the end, they converge with a group of fellow student leaders in the student union’s atrium, chanting together, “Irate 8, Let’s Be Great.”

The theme resonates with Bennett, who said it’s important to make conscious efforts to be great and have a positive impact on the bigger community. “We need to be great,” he said. 

The Road to UC

Bennett, a Cincinnati native, graduated from Princeton High School, then left town. He launched his college career at Florida A&M, an HBCU where he played in the Marching 100 band. When the program lost its funding, he had to decide: find another school or leave academics behind. 

After considering his options, he came back to Ohio and enrolled in Cincinnati State, where he attended classes for two years. As he pursued his bachelor’s degree, he signed up for classes on UC’s main campus. 

He said his Arts & Sciences coursework taught him about more than communication theory and practice. It taught him about perseverance and professionalism. He learned to push through challenges and seek out opportunities along the way. “I can keep moving,” he said. “No matter what, I will see it through.”

Department of Communication Chair Steve Depoe called Bennett, who took his Communication and Sport and a capstone classes, a “charismatic straight-shooter.”

“Willie was a leader,” said Depoe, who watched as Bennett grew more involved on campus and in his own creative projects.

Life Beyond the Classroom

Bennett found plenty of opportunities to showcase his leadership and creativity outside of his courses at UC. He joined the UC African Students’ Association (UCASA), through which he learned about his African roots, and UC Ambassadors for Service Learning, through which he worked with community partners.

He also became involved in UC’s Black Arts Collaborative, which focuses on artistic expression in relation to the Black experience.

He said the Irate 8 movement was also an important cultural touchpoint for him at UC. “It’s important to me because one, I’m a black life,” he said. He has been impressed with the response the group has gotten since it formed last year, but noted that there is still much work to be done. 

Which leads to his work with fellow cyphers Marcus Swafford and Wayne Johnson from the College of Arts & Sciences, along with and Deondre Drakeford, who graduated from the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services (CECH). 

Bennett hopes their rap illustrates the value and social importance of art forms like hip hop. “It can be very effective and it can capture the ear of black people in general,” he said.

Since graduation, Bennett has taken a full-time job with Fifth Third Bank. Still, he remains connected to his UC peers and committed to their success. “We have to stick together,” he said.