Give the artist some love while the music plays: Vibes with Archie Davis and Tunji Balogun
- Clifton Williamson Jr.
- Apr 7, 2023
- 2 min read
Another episode of "In Proximity"
This episode is filled with experience and knowledge about an A&R role in the music industry, music, and life. My mother always told me, "experience is your best teacher". Sometimes we have to live through hardships, trials, and tribulations to learn a lesson. It is wise to listen to your elders and those that love you genuinely. Before we get into the details of "In Proximity" Podcast episode four, I would like to introduce Archie Davis and Tunji Balogun, two music industry executives that tell us their backstory about how they made it to where they are now. Archie Davis is the Chief Creative Officer for Def Jam Recordings and Co-founder of Proximity Media. Tunji Balogun is the Chairman and CEO for Def Jam Recordings (LinkedIn, 2023). Balogun is successful and respected in the music industry. Davis is known for being the executive music producer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Space Jam: A New Legacy, & Judas and The Black Messiah.
Photo of Tunji Balogun: Askew, G. frannieandali, https://www.frannieandali.com/home/2018/7/6/tunji-balogun
Whether it's in the food industry or entertainment industry, your career always has to start somewhere, and for Tunji, it started out with him wanting to be the greatest rapper in the game while simultaneously being the greatest executive.
A&R
A&R means Artist & Repertoire. An A&R is the person that helps break an artist. They also have an ear for the genre the artist is in. Three phases for an artists are addressed in this podcast. Those three stages are discovery, development, & delivery.
Photo of Archie Davis: https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Archie_Davis
Vibes with Archie Davis and Tunji Balogun
Music is universal and it's always a new artist that catches our eye. There is a plethora of music circulating through P.O. Boxes, emails, DMs, and streaming platforms. There are many dope artists wanting to be signed and some artists that are comfortable in their independency.
