With the 2024 GRAMMYs just around the corner, the Recording Academy’s #GRAMMYsNextGen program (once known as #GRAMMYsNextUp) has unveiled its latest class of ambassadors and advisors.
These #GRAMMYsNextGen movers and shakers work in solidarity with the Recording Academy, to inspire a new generation of musicians and music people.
The #GRAMMYsNextGen 2024 Class consists of 22 individuals working to forge the future of the music industry. Across a class of 10 Executive Ambassadors, three Executive Advisors, eight Producer Ambassadors, and one Producer Advisor, you’ll find some of the best and brightest.
As part of the program, all involved will attend a power brunch during 2024 GRAMMY Week to celebrate, establish rapport with their peers in the field, and learn more about Recording Academy membership from Kelley Purcell, Vice President of Membership & Industry Relations.
2024 #GRAMMYsNextGen Executive Ambassadors:
Abe Batshon
Abe Batshon, the visionary Founder and CEO of Beatstars, has been a transformative executive in the music tech industry. Under his leadership, Beatstars has evolved into a premier platform that forges connections among global music creators. This innovative network has not only incubated GRAMMY-winning talent and numerous Billboard Hot 100 hits, but has also revolutionized content monetization, distributing more than $250 million to its vibrant creative community. Batshon’s pioneering vision demonstrates his unwavering commitment to nurturing and empowering artists. His insights resonate through his influential podcast, “Pay The Creators,” where he shares his wisdom and experiences as he continues to inspire and empower the future of music creation.
Rob Abelow
Rob Abelow, founder of Where Music’s Going, has become the voice of music’s future. His forward-thinking newsletter and growth agency bring together new tools, technology & insights to build more sustainable audiences. Leveraging his rich history as an artist manager, label owner, and music tech innovator, Rob specializes in deepening artist-fan relationships. His expertise has catalyzed self-reliant artists to Top 40 albums and billions of streams. Now, Abelow now helps visionary artist teams and music tech companies change the way the game is played.
Eddie Fourcell
Beginning his career as an intern at Island Def Jam, Eddie “A&R Eddie” Fourcell is an A&R Executive at Prescription Songs and also served as head A&R for Mary J. Blige’s MJB INC. In 2022, Eddie signed Philly-bred singer/songwriter/producer Fridayy to Prescription Songs and helped land DJ Khaled’s “God Did,” which would introduce the highly sought-after vocalist to the world as the only new artist alongside hip-hop royalty Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and John Legend. In 2023, Eddie contributed to a number of GRAMMY nominations including Song Of The Year for “God Did” and Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous,” which would go on to be a career first nomination in the Album Of The Year category for the nine-time GRAMMY-winning legend.
Rachelle Jean-Louis
Rachelle Jean-Louis is a multi-talented executive: manager, A&R, creative and music supervisor for film & TV. As manager to prolific singer/songwriter Victoria Monét, she has steadily guided Monét’s solo career to an impressive seven GRAMMY nominations this year, including those for Best New Artist and Record Of The Year, while also serving as co-executive producer of Monét’s critically-acclaimed debut album JAGUAR II. She also represents viral powerhouse vocalist Saint Harison of Apple Music’s 2023 Up Next Class and Amazon Music’s 2024 Artists to Watch.
Heran Mamo
Heran Mamo is an Ethiopian American music journalist currently working as an R&B/hip-rop reporter at Billboard. She specializes in pop, hip-hop, R&B and Afrobeats music coverage and believes in amplifying the voices of underserved communities within the industry. Heran has written cover stories about The Weeknd, Burna Boy, SZA, Ice Spice and Metro Boomin; moderated panels at AFRICON in LA, SXSW in Austin, Texas and Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, Germany; and made TV appearances on “Good Morning America,” “CBS News” and “Entertainment Tonight.”
Federico Morris
As Director of A&R at Range Media Partners, Federico Morris works across Range Media Partners’ record label, publishing and music management divisions. His recent signings include fast-rising artists Dylan Gossett (co-management) and Presley Regier (label). Since making his musical debut in June of 2023, Dylan Gossett has released an RIAA Gold-Certified single, opened a stadium show for Morgan Wallen, and played in arenas supporting artists like Noah Kahan. Presley Regier, a rising producer and musician, is direct support for Tate McRae‘s 2024 summer arena tour. Prior to Range, Morris managed GRAMMY-winning, multi-platinum hitmakers Starboy and Outtatown. He also served as Publishing A&R at Electric Feel Entertainment, where he signed multi-platinum producer Callan Wong and worked closely with hitmakers Carter Lang, Nick Mira, Starboy, Westen Weiss, Teo Halm and more, placing his writers on songs by artists ranging from BTS to Future to Omar Apollo.
Amal Noor
Amal Noor is a multifaceted hyper-creative strategist with a dual executive and entrepreneurial background. She specializes in artist development, integrated marketing, creative partnerships, brand strategy, and world-building. Hailing from both the Netherlands and England, and as a second-generation immigrant from Somalia, she moved to the U.S. solo to pursue the American Dream. Six and a half years later, as the proud owner of about:blank Management, home to Teezo Touchdown and Aliyah’s Interlude, Amal has cemented her place as one of the most promising music industry executives of the next generation.
**Craig L. Posey**
Craig L. Posey is an accomplished artist manager and seasoned music and entertainment executive, boasting a distinguished career spanning more than 10 years. Renowned for expertise in management, creative marketing, and live events within the dynamic realm of the music and entertainment industry. He has a proven track record of collaboration with esteemed clients such as YouTube Shorts, Complex, Pandora, Footlocker, Microsoft, and Gibson, among others. Posey is presently excelling as the community manager for the innovative music tech platform Vydia, while concurrently steering the career of two-time GRAMMY-nominated R&B artist Kenyon Dixon.
**Ben Schecter**
Ben Schecter, originally from Oakland, California, rose from an UCLA intern to Manager at The Revels Group and Co-Founder at Coup D’Etat Recordings in three years. He has curated successful partnerships and events with The Recording Academy, Amazon Music, Nike, The Black Music Action Coalition and more, as well as while his client roster has grown, boasting more than one billion cumulative streams to date. In 2023, Ben co-founded the distribution and label division of Coup D’Etat Recordings. Ben has been instrumental in working alongside Revel’s founder, Jamil Davis, to build their BLACK: Future. Now program.
**V-Live**
Vladimir Samedi — a.k.a. V-Live — is a superstar entertainment and tech executive paving the way for the future of music, film/TV and tech. His ability and talents have led him to diamond records, executive production for viral campaigns, TV shows and managing culture’s top talent. Merging music and technology, he is also a founding partner of Integral Studio, a digital marketing agency that enables artists to engage, analyze and monetize audiences intelligently. Since then, has also become a partner for SymphonyOS a SaaS platform that helps creators streamline their digital marketing strategies more effectively and has directly been responsible for sourcing and securing outside capital for their current fundraising efforts.
**2024 #GRAMMYsNextGen Executive Advisors:
David Ali
David Ali is the Founder and CEO of Above Ground Entertainment, a full-service management and entertainment company based in Los Angeles which boasts Kehlani, Larry June, Tee Grizzley, and Destin Conrad. Above Ground was established in 2008 as an event promotion and management company before growing into a talent management company in 2010.
Ashley Calhoun**
Ashley Calhoun is the President + Head of Creative of PULSE Music Group, which comprises PULSE Music Publishing, PULSE Records and PULSE Management. Calhoun has been with the company since 2015, where she has built a publishing roster that includes Brent Faiyaz, Kehlani, FNZ, Starrah, OG Parker, Flo Milli, and Cordae, to name a few. Her management roster includes producers Tyler Johnson (co-management with Nathaniel Cochrane), G. Ry, and Rahki.
**Alaysia Sierra**
Alaysia Sierra, a 30-year-old L.A. native, stands as a prominent figure in the music industry. With a deep-seated passion for R&B, they serve as the Head of R&B at Spotify, following their previous role as the Global Head of R&B at Apple Music. Starting with humble beginnings in college radio, Alaysia eventually went on to leading global R&B efforts and propelling the talents of artists like Summer Walker, GIVEON, Victoria Monét, Tems, and many more, during their time with Apple Music. Since joining Spotify in July 2022, Alaysia’s tenure has been marked by their commitment, advocacy for marginalized voices, and enthusiasm for the R&B genre.
2024 #GRAMMYsNextGen Producer Ambassadors:
Cash Cobain
Cash Cobain is a two-fold rapper and producer who is the originator of the style “sample drill,” a sound that has completely transformed the identity of drill in NYC by introducing 90’s R&B, 2000’s pop, and even gospel to the genre. Previously, Cash set this musical trend in Brooklyn alongside his production work with Shawny Binladen, including their notable, genre-bending collaborations like “Yellow Tears”, “Faith” & “Georgia”. Cash’s reach goes beyond NYC, with his style of reinventing samples crossing the pond to the UK on the production for Central Cee’s track “Duppy Drill” (50m+ streams). Although Cash is renowned for his production, he is simultaneously an innovative and cutting-edge rapper, as exhibited through his 2022 collaborative project with Chow Lee, 2 Slizzy 2 Sexy, their energetic On The Radar freestyle, and the viral track “SLIZZY LIKE”, a clever combo of Jersey Club over a chop of Stevie Wonder, creating a standalone sound like no other.
Nik Dean
Nik Dean is a multi-platinum producer from Vienna, Austria known for his captivating drums and melodies. Over the past few years, Nik has worked with the likes of Travis Scott (“SKITZO”), Tory Lanez (“The Color Violet,” “Stupid Again”), Gunna (“25K Jacket”), Anuel AA (“Conversacion Con Dios”), EST Gee & Jack Harlow (“Backstage Passes”) and many more.
**Hit Girl**
Hit Girl, a Philippine native, moved to Canada when she was 6 years old. She is the first female producer signed to Internet Money Records and has worked with artists such as Yeat, Lil Uzi Vert, and Kyle Rich. Her favorite genres to make are underground hip hop & electronic music.
Nascent
Christopher Ruelas, better known as “Nascent,” is a Mexican-American producer and artist. Born and raised in Chicago, Nascent has worked with the likes of SZA, Brent Faiyaz, The Weeknd, Lil Baby, Kanye West, Chance The Rapper, G-Herbo, Saba, Jordan Ward, and more. Nascent is a GRAMMY-winning producer for Best Melodic Rap performance for “Hurricane” by Kanye West & The Weeknd featuring Lil Baby. Nascent is currently nominated for two GRAMMY Awards at the 66th GRAMMY Awards for his work on SZA’s album SOS.
Trinity
TRINITY is an L.A.-based producer/songwriter who draws from life experience to create inspired anthems and timeless records. With over 100 million streams across a variety of musical genres, TRINITY has cemented her place as a diverse creator. She follows a long line of independent women in music who have paved their own lane. TRINITY attributes much of her success to healthy relationships. She respects music as a beautiful exchange of creative gifts and looks forward to sharing something new every day.
Wallis Lane
Wallis Lane is a multi-platinum, 10-time GRAMMY-nominated producer duo consisting of brothers Paimon “Farsi” Jahanbin and Nima “Nizzy” Jahanbin, who have become the go-to beat making machine for rap royalty. Credits with Travis Scott, Kanye West, Post Malone, Jack Harlow, NBA Youngboy, Migos, and Drake jump off the page but the duo have become a formidable voice in 2020’s rap because their swampy beats exude enough character to complement the larger-than-life superstars they work with.
**Tommy Parker*
Tommy Parker is an artist, producer and songwriter, hailing from San Bernardino and Pittsburgh. Known for his signature vocals and unique piano, Tommy has been playing piano and singing since he was ten. Over his career, he has lended his production to to artists including Drake (“Drew a Picasso,”) J. Cole (“Interlude”), Janet Jackson (“Made for Now” and “Unbreakable”), Ariana Grande (“Love Language,” “Leave Me Lonely” and “Worst Behavior”), Lil Uzi Vert (“Days Come and Go”), Young Thug (“Stressed”), Chris Brown (“Sleep at Night” and “On Some New Shit)” and many others. Set to make his artist debut in 2024 with his The Parkers project, Tommy has also recently entered the film and TV space, composing on the score for Netflix’s critically acclaimed film They Cloned Tyrone and contributing to “Anthem” off of the Creed 3* soundtrack.
Tyler Henry/Loshendrix
Loshendrix is a Los Angeles-based producer who has worked with artists such as NLE Choppa, Kehlani, Childish Gambino, Camila Cabello, and Brent Faiyaz. His songwriting, engineering, and multi-instrumental skills impact hip-hop, R&B, and pop with a distinct and driving dynamic of his own, which he coined “New Age Vintage.” He co-produced and co-wrote Good Days by SZA which went No. 1 on Spotify and Apple Music.
2024 #GRAMMYsNextGen Producer Ambassadors: Producer Advisors
Deputy
GRAMMY-nominated music producer and songwriter Deputy stands at the forefront of the music industry, recognized for his transformative contributions to chart-topping hits, including Rihanna‘s certified Platinum hit single, “B*tch Better Have My Money,” (“BBHMM”) which she performed as the opening song for her 2023 Super Bowl halftime performance. Deputy’s production on Victoria Monét’s hit song, “On My Mama,” earned him GRAMMY nominations for Record Of The Year and Best R&B Song, contributing to the project’s Best R&B Album nomination. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts, was named one of the Top 10 songs of 2023 according to Rolling Stone, and has amassed more than 20 million views on YouTube, underscoring Deputy’s talent and influence on the industry and culture at large.
