Africa Creative Agency Is Ushering In A Global Rebirth Of Talent Management

Entertainment industry veteran Yvette Davis-Gayle has a very vivid memory of the first and second time she fell in love with Africa’s creative potential. “I think I fell in love with Africa via Colin,” says the former Vice President of Publicity at Interscope Records of her business and life partner. “As a little girl born in Brooklyn and raised between there and Virginia, the idea of Africa was always this mystical world. I was fascinated with Egypt – pyramids, Cleopatra, mainly things that the media gave me which was mostly wrong,” she laughs. “And then as an adult I fell in love with music and the creative economy by interning with Sony Music while at college as a Political Science Major.” Despite being well on her way to law school, she explains that this internship changed the trajectory of her life – when she committed to becoming a student of change instead. Eventually, Yvette landed a job at Colombia Records – where it felt as if a world of opportunities lay at her feet. “I visited (Africa) in 2004 with Colin and I fell in love with the space. We adopted our daughter from Ethiopia in 2011 and spent 2 months in Cape Town. That’s when I fell in love with South Africa and really started to learn more about the continent,” she reflects.

Yvette’s husband, Colin Gayle, is a mogul and a visionary in his own right. He has worked alongside global entertainers – such as soulful songbird Jill Scott and R&B crooner Kenny Lattimore – and proudly traces his roots to the Caribbean cultural epicentre of Jamaica. On this island, his father was his first example of creative excellence. “My father was a DJ, and he made big speaker boxes for sound systems and played music. I think that was my first intro to the space,” recalls the former General Manager of 50 Cent’s G-Unit International. However, Colin’s professional axis shifted once again in 1998: when he travelled from the United States to South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s 80^th birthday celebrations with industry colleagues. It’s an experience, he says, truly exposed him to the raw, untapped potential of Africa. Making his first visit to Africa alongside music royalty such as Stevie Wonder and Vidal Davis, Mr. Gayle was blown away by the vibrancy of the space and the talent on display at the events.

Together, these individual and collective life experiences would ultimately set in motion the birth of a bigger dream for this dynamic duo: their company, the Africa Creative Agency (ACA). Today, the multifaceted agency boasts of a number of victories on their roster. Most recently, ACA’s client, Tyla, flowed to victory with a 2024 Grammy Award win for Best African Music Performance of her global hit “Water” – against other music heavyweights such as Burna Boy, Asake and Olamide, Davido, and Ayra Starr. While the win may have come as a surprise to many, ACA has enjoyed a fruitful history of unearthing the freshest talent in Africa and packaging entertainment products that are both exportable and culturally-sound. Their team’s presence in South Africa, Kenya and Los Angeles conscientiously connects on-the-ground talent to the global entertainment industry, and the formula for a diversified and resilient business model is tried, tested and true. “It’s a long journey, and we’re excited. We have plans all the way to ’26,” reveals Colin, who is Co-Founder and CEO of the company. “Tyla is very clear about where she wants to go and the work she wants to put in. We’re excited to be a part of this moment and we’re excited for South Africa, Africa in general and the diaspora overall.” But the decision to spearhead and shepherd this movement with Africa Creative Agency – which included they Gayle family relocating the South Africa with their children – was not an easy one. “I’m still scared to this day,” Colin readily admits. “But I do remember when there was nothing – no connectivity. So now, every day is a bright day because I know it was better than what it was yesterday.” He also explains that he had a historical context of what the company could be and become – and that on-the-ground research was the ultimate key to investing into the business idea after years of travel to Africa. From Yvette’s perspective as a seasoned communications and publicity executive, finding her own niche in this cross-continental dream was the ultimate challenge and delight. “I remember when we were hired as consultants for Nasty C right after he was nominated for a BET Award. The label that he was signed to at the time wanted to create a footprint for him. And there was something about this kid that gave me this feeling that he was going to be huge. It gave me the feeling that I had when I first met 50 Cent back in the 1990’s.” That experience brought a fiery sense of determination to work alongside her husband to explore talent opportunities in Africa – while bridging opportunities and access for a variety of talent in music, film, television and The Arts.

Africa Creative Agency’s core mission is to build an ecosystem to ensure that African talent receives elite representation and maximises their economic potential with a trifecta approach – people, partnerships and platforms. In addition to Yvette and Colin Gayle, ACA’s leadership executive consists of Joel Rao, Head of East Africa; Roger Patton, Head of Legal and Business and Kevin Boakye, Partner. Reflecting on why mega-talent repeatedly choose the Africa Creative Agency and signing talent that is the right fit for the ACA Brand, Yvette is clear. “The background that our team has is important in building the human brands – because we’re managing layers and levels that need to be taken care of,” she explains. “Even though my career history is in publicity, I’m also running the film and television division: I produced my first film last year. Our backgrounds make us seasoned vets, but it also makes us strong in our decision-making. Once we choose a particular client, I think all of our expertise help to build that ecosystem that the client needs – whether legal, financial, publicity, marketing or otherwise.” The film and television landscape particularly excites the Chief Operating Officer of Africa Creative Agency. “I’ve been truly amazed and fortunate to come into the space – I’m an open sponge, and I really wanted to jump in and really learn,” Yvette explains. “Management and publicity, I’ve got that – but what ACA’s film and television division allows me to do is think like a director, to produce with storytelling and root myself in a new lane.”

Behind the machinery of agency representation, it’s a numbers game laced with equal parts of precision and preparation. Statistically, Tyla is only the tip of the iceberg of success for the Africa Creative Agency. The company’s thorough research revealed that African recorded music industry grows 35% faster than any other region in the world, with a revenue of $400 million. In this entertainment world, data is the truest storyteller – and with clients like Pearl Thusi, Sauti Soul and Celeste Ntuli contributing to ACA’s staggering talent behemoth of 100 million cumulative followers across social media, there is increasing global relevance of African and Pan-African talent. The team believes in storytelling as an essential means to change the perception and narrative of Africa and uses social engineering as a key driving force for clients – a philosophy Colin Gayle has firmly stood by for 25 years. “For a long time, Africa had a certain reputation and we needed to first change those perceptions – first in your home, then your inner circle, and so on. I think that was done through experiences,” he muses. “Things like (The Year Of) The Return had a huge impact on changing the perception of what Africa was. Music also changed the perception of what Africa was. And I think the creative industry has done more to change Africa’s future than any other industry in Africa, because it allows us to have an open mind and to think of the possibilities in a different way. You have an option – and that’s the social engineering that music, film and TV have done.”

If content is king, then Africa Creative Agency just might hold the keys to the kingdom. In the entertainment world, the recipe of success consists of a number of ingredients that flavour the pot – including timing, quality of music and even corporate partnerships. However, according to Colin, star power cannot be substituted – and the gift of discovery is one he has developed over time. “You can’t make cornmeal without corn or dumpling without flour,” he insists. Having a good idea of the goal is indispensable to building the right foundation for relationships with labels, publishing and other industry necessities. “We also have an internal and external team that believes. A lot of this is about believing,” he muses. According to him, the internal developmental processes for talent are thoughtful and the ACA doors are also always open to assisting other young executives who are moving through talent management spaces with their own acts – providing advice on everything from touring to merchandising. “It’s also the personality of who we are and what our core mission is. We didn’t just come here to throw up a business. It’s an ecosystem that works on both sides. Our boots are on the ground, our feet are to the metal and our clients know that we share in that desperation, hunger and dream of wanting them to succeed,” adds Yvette. She also notes that Africa Creative Agency has been fortunate enough to scout talent that is in the right mindset, which aligns with their own values of taking Africa to the world and the world to Africa. “I think our clients know that we are truly invested in them and we work to do our best for them.”