In our latest roundup, we present eight rising professionals from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.
This week's entrants will also find their faces in our latest mag—a mortifying experience they can lament over kombucha and Halloween candy.
Kristin Turner
Director, Brand Partnerships, SB Projects
This brand-partnership veteran vividly remembers seeing her efforts come to fruition when Canadian duo and
Drake associates
dvsn appeared on the seatbacks of
Delta aircraft as part of an artist-spotlight campaign—talk about a captive audience. She’s lately been working on
J Balvin’s “Es Jose Time” collaboration with
Miller Lite (the J stands for Jose). Insisting “I am
not a runner,” Turner nonetheless once competed in a half marathon in Berlin on only two weeks’ notice. We wonder how far she’d run to avoid being associated with this unfortunate rag.
Brian White
VP of A&R/Manager, The Revels Group
White played a role in breaking two
Spotify records when
Ambezza landed co-production on
Drake &
Lil Baby’s “Girls Like Girls” from the former’s #1 album
Certified Lover Boy. He’s likewise stoked about writing/production credits for
Frankie Bash (
Baby Keem &
Kendrick Lamar’s “family ties”) and
Sam Barsh (
Kanye West, Lil Baby &
The Weeknd’s chart-topping “Hurricane”). In a previous life, White was a (multiplatinum) engineer/producer/studio owner—he recorded Lamar and
ScHoolboy Q and he boasts credits on material by
Machine Gun Kelly and
Trey Songz.
We are due no credit whatsoever.
Vivian Ramirez
Senior Manager, Entertainment Marketing & Partnerships, Puma
In 2016 Ramirez had the pleasure of taking part in the debut of
Fenty Puma by Rihanna at
New York Fashion Week. Nowadays she’s focused on partnership strategy for
Grammy nominee
Cordae, helping him integrate Puma moments into his own brand expression and highlighting his
HBCU outreach and involvement in community give-back programs. Ramirez is also mounting
Latinx Heritage Month promotions for Puma. A tomboy at heart who loves sports, she’s worked with boxing champ
Miguel Cotto and hobnobbed with famed trainer
Freddie Roach. Consider
us down for the count.
Andre Rodriguez Director, Production, 10K Projects
Rodriguez feels privileged to have worked on
Linkin Park’s 2017 album
One More Light, their last with lead singer
Chester Bennington, who died that year—Rodriguez has a Linkin Park tattoo on his right forearm. He’s recently been supporting the
Universal Music Latin debut of Venezuelan artist
Nani, “the best-kept secret in Latin America.” A heavy-metal fanatic, Rodriguez has been to so many
Metallica shows that he’s collected more Metallica guitar picks than he can count. We couldn’t count them either as we have yet to master that skill.
Ina Ubaite
Executive Director, Park Avenue Artists
Ubaite has proven invaluable to advancing the careers of Best Traditional R&B Performance
Grammy winner
Yebba—securing a
Sofar Sounds appearance, a
Tiny Desk Concert, an
Ed Sheeran video, support from
Zane Lowe on
Apple Music and a feature on
Drake’s
Certified Lover Boy—and the eclectic string trio
Time for Three, coordinating their score for
Robin Wright’s directorial debut,
Land, a hospital tour and more. A native of Lithuania, she learned English by listening to the
Red Hot Chili Peppers. Say,
we could use some help with our English…
Brendan Laezza
Director, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Cinematic Music Group
Laezza once singlehandedly ran an album-release livestream (before that was a thing) from Atlanta’s
Means Street Studio, filming with a cell phone while surrounded by the likes of
Snoop Dogg,
DJ Drama and
Uzi, an experience he describes as “chaotic but insanely fun.” He’s now driving all things digital for, and contributing creative to, emerging artists
Big Yavo,
Eryn Martin and
Prentiss, helping them develop filters, content and storytelling chops on social media to build their online communities. Laezza also happens to be a multi-instrumentalist.
We’re not even single instrumentalists.
Rachel Jackson
Manager, Artist Relations, YouTube Music
Having played a role in securing global promotional support for
Lil Baby and
Moneybagg Yo, Jackson found it deeply rewarding when they hit #1 with “No Sucker.” Today, this graduate of
Clark Atlanta University—who began interning at age 15—is working on
Future Insiders, a program that allows young adults to explore the intersection of tech and music while networking with music-industry execs. In February, Rachel appeared on the cover of
Hip Hop United, which called her “the culture’s most wanted.” We’ve been called the culture’s
least wanted.
Loren Cheri Shokes
Associate, Skadden, Arps / Professor, Roc Nation School of Music, Sports and Entertainment
In 2017
Harvard Law grad Shokes worked on the
Super Bowl halftime show with
Lady Gaga. Thereafter she helped facilitate
TikTok’s $850m merger into
ByteDance;
The Carlyle Group’s investments in
Ithaca Holdings, including its acquisition of
BMLG; and
Sony Music Entertainment’s acquisition of
Alamo Records. A percussionist, she is the youngest professor at the
Roc Nation School of Music, Sports and Entertainment. She is also a figure skater and was captain of her high school’s varsity golf team. Is there anything Shokes can’t do? Is there anything we
can?
