The History of the UMMF Family: March 3, 1995 - the Present 29 years later, we come in peace... In 1995, the genre of Hip Hop music was still relatively young and centered almost entirely around its birthplace of New York City with a growing presence in Los Angeles. Just under 200 miles to the north of New York, Boston, Massachusetts was heavily influenced by the music scene in the nation's largest city. Although Boston had no commercial radio station with a rap format, the sounds on the streets of inner-city enclaves like Roxbury and Mattapan vibrated with the same beats that drowned out the clubs and airwaves in Brooklyn and The Bronx.

Not surprisingly, young, aspiring rappers in Boston sought out their own careers but generally lacked the cohesiveness of their counterparts in New York and Los Angeles. More often than not, local emcees found themselves challenging each other with far too often violent culminations. It was during this time that the U.M.M.F. (an acronym for Us Making Moves Forever) organization was born in the mind and heart of its founder Cindy Diggs. Cindy Diggs, a peace-driven visionary who grew up in Roxbury, created the family-like alliance to educate its broad membership on the business of music.

She pioneered innovative music conferences dubbed "Can We Talk 2U?" which afforded first-hand advice via panels that featured iconic hip hop veterans such as the late Jam Master Jay of the legendary group Run DMC and Wendy Day, Founder of the Rap Coalition. Cindy's vision for U.M.M.F. served other purposes both by design and need. The organization acted as an umbrella for many who sought guidance as well as those who were prone to violent confrontation in the city's gang-infested ghettos.