Return to the Registration page
What is the purpose of the WIA?
CWHipHop hosts the Wisconsin Icon Awards to help draw attention to Wisconsin’s Music, Art, Events, and Key players from the past year. A “Giving Them Flowers” Moment. The awards can be used as a benchmark for artists to see if their fanbase is showing up for them or to include their best work in this year’s conversation. We feel hosting an event that allows for light competition within the Wisconsin music scene is beneficial and helps push the art forward.
How will voting work?
Two (2) rounds of voting will occur. A Preliminary Vote will be held, and the top five (5) entries in each category will move on to the final vote. Three (3) votes per round may be cast via (1) Facebook, (1) Instagram, and (1) vote on CWHipHop.com with a verified email. The Preliminary Vote will be from Sunday, November 9th, 2025 until Sunday, November 16th, 2025.
Finalists from the Preliminary Vote will be announced during our Live DJ on Sunday, November 30th, 2025, @5pm. The Final Vote will follow the same voting format from Sunday, November 30th, 2025, until Sunday, December 14th, 2024. The winners of the 2025 WIA in the final vote will be announced during our live show on Sunday, January 4th, 2025 @ 5pm!
Why do we have a “popular vote” model to decide a winner?
There are a couple of methods to determine the winner in each category.
1.) A panel takes time to analyze the art with a score based on different aspects and picks the highest score as the winner.
2.) Allow the community and fans to submit their vote via multiple platforms to pick the winner in each category.
Each selection system has its downsides: a panel is a small group of individuals assigning a number value to art, and a public vote can turn into a popularity vote, and not picking the music. We feel the benefit of trusting the people to determine the best entries outweighs the advantage of allowing judges to objectively analyze all entries based on their ear and music taste, as it will encourage more overall fans of HipHop to listen to music in the WIA and into the Wisconsin HipHop music scene as a whole.
What benefit can I receive from throwing my name into the WIAs?
Some benefits include 1.) having your nomination added to our website with a link for everyone to check out during the WIAs and in the future when anyone looks back on past years’ awards, 2.) allowing you to rally your fanbase and give them a cause to show out and support you, 3.) allows you to analyze your past works to pick your “best” one that people can check out, 4.) gets your name in the conversation among other artists within the state, and 5.) gives you a level playing field to compete with some of your peers.
What does it mean to win a WIA?
Essentially, bragging rights that you made great art over the past year. We award chained pendants and certificates to the winners as a memento of winning. Your art will remain on our website for people to view in the future.
What does it mean to lose a WIA?
Absolutely nothing. There are a few hundred artists in the state, many of whom have been working on their craft for years, and the WIA is not meant to bash artists in development. Only one winner can be named in each category, so there will be more nominated artists than winning artists. We think one benefit of competition in music can be to light a fire under those who don’t feel on top to make better music and push what they believe they can with their art.
Why wasn’t I nominated for an award?
CWHipHop doesn’t select artists or works of art to be entered into a category. There are too many artists in the state, and we would leave someone out who would want to be a part of the running. Some artists enjoy making music without comparing themselves to others or being judged. To ensure that those who want to be in the running, we required each Artist to reach out and submit their entries. “You can’t win if you don’t send in.”
Why can’t I enter every category?
We limit the number of categories artists can enter for a couple of reasons. We want to ensure that artists are picking their best art to submit to this year’s awards and prevent just one “popular” artist from sweeping all the awards.
Can I enter the awards for free?
This year, we have added ‘Fan Favorite’ submissions, where artists can rally their fanbase to nominate them for one of the main categories without being a CWHipHop Artist or paying the registration fee. This will ensure any artists who should be included in the WIA are included if they can’t afford the cost. View the Registration Page for more information.
Why does the WIA take so long to determine the winners?
We have a limited team at CWHipHop, so each vote on social media and our website is hand-entered into a Google spreadsheet, and confirming votes is completed by one person. To ensure that votes are tallied correctly, voters have time to verify their votes, and mistakes are minimized, we schedule enough time to complete these tasks without increasing the urgency too high.