Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer and hometown boy made good Chad Smith is launching a music scholarship at the University of Michigan, the rocker has announced.

Smith, who grew up in Bloomfield Hills, made a surprise appearance at Ann Arbor's Hill Auditorium during Sunday's Band-O-Rama to make the announcement.

"We want to give something back and be able to expose people to opportunities to be able to follow their passion, just like I did growing up," says the Lahser High School grad.

The scholarship — part of the Chad Smith Foundation , launched in August — is presented in the name of Smith's parents, Joan and Curtis Smith. Smith's mother, Joan, is 98 and still lives in the house Smith grew up in.

"It's a family affair," Smith told The Detroit News earlier this week, of naming the

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