An overview of the Nigerian music space will reveal some disparity. More men, less women. Five, six male hitmakers and on the other side is perhaps just one female A-list act. We barely have one female producer too.
But a look at the teams of these artists counters that disparity. On teams, companies’ boards, we’re seeing more women. Women leading teams, better managing artists and contributing to their success. An artist like Wizkid has Jada P managing the business side of things and serving as a representative.
Here in this article, we look at how seven ladies are contributing to the growth of the Nigerian music space.
1. Osagie Osarenz — Artist Manager/Country Manager, OneRPM
Osagie is best known for scouting Wizkid even before his EME days. She groomed the act, closely working with him for five years. On her resume, are artists who’ve owed their breakthrough to her relentless efforts.
Osagie currently has YCee, Terri, Timaya, Reminisce under her full-service management agency, The Zone Agency. In 2020, Osagie was made the country manager for the music distribution company, OneRPM.
2. Vanessa Amadi (Miss Amadi) — Publicist/Artist Manager to Tiwa Savage
An enigma and a power bloc on her own, Miss Amadi’s influence cuts across different sectors—not just music alone—and she’s also stamped her influence on other music spaces—not just Nigerian music alone.
Playing a significant role in Tiwa Savage’s deal with Universal Music, she also manages the act and her brand, VAPR, handles PR for Davido and Fireboy.
3. Kimani Moore — Artist Manager to Tay Iwar & Odunsi
When the Alte genre was hovering around the mainstream space between 2017-2018, one figure who was instrumental to the eventual penetration was Kimani Moore.
Managing Odunsi and Tay Iwar, the two artists would go on to release their debut albums, earning worldwide attention and gaining enormous streams as well.
She’s also worked with Larry Gaaga and presently has Deto Black and Mowalola on her roster.
4. Aibee Abidoye — Vice President, Chocolate City
Aibee has scaled up the leader in recent years. Joining Chocolate City Music in 2013 as a General Manager, Aibee currently serves as the Executive Vice President at the label.
In her capacity, Aibee is responsible for managing the overall operations of the label including strategy development and implementation.
Armed with a background in law and intellectual property, she played a vital role in the partnership between Chocolate City and Warner Music.
5. Rima Tahini — A&R Director, Mavin
When Ladipoe was giving his acceptance speech at the Headies weeks back, he mentioned how an A&R director at his record label picked the song, “Know You” as his next release.
That A&R is Rima Tahini who has contributed immensely to the success the record label has recorded in the last three years.
In 2019, Rima being a part of the investment firm, Kupanda Holdings worked out a deal with the label and Kupanda.
6. Fawehinmi Oyinkansola (Foza Doza) — Entertainment Lawyer and President, DMCE
When it comes to sharing knowledge about intellectual property, Foza is a regular on that. When a music enthusiast asks around for a lawyer, best bet Foza will be one of the most referred.
With a hunger to help artists firmly secure earnings from their intellectual property, Foza has been part of a change the industry has witnessed in recent years.
A decade back, most producers were ignorant of the term “Split Sheets” but through being a part of The Sarz Academy, scores of producers have been tutored on how to better profit from their work.
7. Stephanie Okocha — Manager, Immensum Music
An A&R, Stephanie works closely with the beat maker Tempoe and is one of the executives helping to run the occasional music event, Basement Gig.
She also doubles as a label services manager for music business services company, Immensum Music.
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