Came a Long Way

As the SVP of A&R at Warner Records, Eesean Bolden signed some of the most popular artists in the modern hip-hop culture. His current roster includes artists like Lil Pump, and Saweetie. During our conversation, we talked about the important of leaning in on analytics with a combination of extreme passion and work ethic in developing an artist. We found Eesean's advice to see your career as a marathon and learn as much as you can while cultivating relationships to be a great source of guidance for the young professionals aspiring to be music executives. 

We hope you enjoy this episode! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way. For any questions, feedback and comments you can email us at [email protected]

Kenny Hamilton is a music manager and marketer who is currently the managing partner of CSH Group with his current roster of artists like Rotimi and Ghoss, and along his career he has also worked in top global companies like Apple and Spotify.

During our conversation, we dived in to the early days of Kenny’s career and talked about how he stepped out of his comfort zone by not being afraid of asking questions and learning about different roles wihin the music business. He highlighted the importance of the current age of streaming for the marketers to promote artists, and he adviced ‘to see the curve before you’re actually in it’ that he learned from Scooter Braun while trying to break Justin Bieber.

Kenny gave a valuable advice to aspiring music executives by telling them not to give up, be consistent and figure out ways to be creative and reinvent yourself.

We hope you enjoy this episode! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way and our YouTube channel CameaLongWayTV. For any questions, feedback and comments you can email us at [email protected]

You can also follow Kenny on Instagram @kennyhamilton

Tom Lehman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Genius. Launched in 2009 as Rap Genius, the website started as a rap lyric annotation platform. Fast forward today, Genius is one of the most followed online media companies with over 100 employees and millions of daily user engagements, with collaboration and support from global artists such as Travis Scott, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande. 

During our conversation with Tom, we talked about his vision for Genius in the early days, the challenges of working on a completely new concept and lessons learned along the way. Tom’s perspective on life is full of inspiration and passion. Along with his co-founders, as an entrepreneur who built an online platform that connects artists and their fans, what kept Tom going in the early days was constructive feedback that he received from others. 

We hope you enjoy this episode! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way and our YouTube channel CameaLongWayTV. For any questions, feedback and comments you can email us at [email protected]

Tina Davis is known as one of the most influential executives in the music industry who worked with some of the greatest talents of our generation. Tina worked her way up to become the Senior Vice President of A&R at Def Jam where she remained as an executive for more than a decade. Currently, she is the VP of A&R at Empire and the producer of music competition series The Next Big Thing aired on BET. 

During our conversation with Tina, we talked about the importance of risk-taking and betting on yourself to achieve your goals. Tina is known for playing a critical role in Chris Brown’s rise to fame as his manager, we found her entrepreneurial spirit during those days truly inspiring. Tina is a successful music executive with a powerful personality that believes in herself whatever the challenge may be. Here is Tina Davis on Came A Long Way. 

We hope you enjoy this episode! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way and our YouTube channel CameaLongWayTV. For any questions, feedback and comments you can email us at [email protected]

Lauren Gallo is a marketing creative who worked in some of the most iconic global brands in the world such as Soho House, Nike, Apple and most recently Snapchat. Born and raised in New York, Lauren’s passion for storytelling started at a young age. She lived in eight different cities over the past twelve years and held various brand marketing & content strategy roles. Due to her recent accomplishments, Lauren has been named to Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2017. 

During our conversation with Lauren, we talked about how to standout in recruitment process to join your dream company, the work culture of global brands and going with the instincts when it comes to career planning. For Lauren, passion is the most important ingredient for success, she believes that once you’re truly passionate, everything else will follow. Lauren gave tips on top skills to build in order to become an irreplaceable marketing creative in any innovative organization. Towards the end of our conversation with Lauren, we deep dived into the future of storytelling for our truly creative listeners.

We hope you enjoy this episode! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way and our YouTube channel CameaLongWayTV. For any questions, feedback and comments you can email us at [email protected]

Barry "Hefner" Johnson is a true entrepreneur. As the Co-Founder and President of Since the 80s, a record label/artist management house, Barry's venture is known for managing acts such as 21 Savage, JID and Earthgang. 

In one of the most exclusive and competitive industries such as the music business, Barry’s career accomplishments didn’t take off through the traditional routes of internships and inside connections. Barry owes his success to his upmost passion for music. For him, loving what you do is the most important ingredient for success without any materialistic expectations. His approach to the industry is different than most, not following any typical guideline and moving with instincts. Focused on constant personal-growth, Barry is reshaping the music industry without any distractions. 

We hope you enjoy this episode! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way and our YouTube channel CameaLongWayTV. For any questions, feedback and comments you can email us at [email protected]

‘You will hear ‘NO’ a million times before you hear ‘YES’ and you need to stay focused on that break’. 

As the VP of A&R at RCA Records, Derrick Aroh is known for signing some of the most important talents of our generation such as Childish Gambino, GoldLink and Brockhampton. Derrick’s road to success required many sacrifices but most importantly: patience. During our conversation we talked about the importance of resilience and embracing rejection in order to succeed. 

Derrick also touched on how advancements in streaming music changed the dynamics of the relationship between the artist and the record label. He gave some valuable insights on the process of after signing a big talent and how to make a popular artist relevant in the long-run. 

We hope you enjoy this episode! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way and our YouTube channel CameaLongWayTV. For any questions, feedback and comments you can email us at [email protected]

'You're only as hot as the last act you signed. You need change in order to grow.'
— Riggs Morales

Throughout his career, Riggs worked with legendary artists that transformed the genres of Hip Hop and R&B such as Eminem, 50 Cent and more recently Wiz Khalifa and Janelle Monae. Riggs’ rise as a music executive began after being appointed as the Director of A&R at Shady Records by Eminem and Paul Rosenberg. Since then, he has been involved in projects which generated numerous Platinum and even Diamond selling records.

Riggs is currently Vice President of A&R at Atlantic Records and continues to find, manage and collaborate with unique talent. During our conversation, we talked about the evolution of Hip Hop as a genre over the years and how to stay ahead in the music business. Riggs gave some insights on coming up with the right formula to produce hit making records. 

We hope you enjoy this episode! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way and our YouTube channel CameaLongWayTV. For any questions, feedback and comments you can email us at [email protected]

As the President of SB Projects, Allison Kaye is often times referred to as one of the most powerful executives in entertainment industry. Along with the founder Scooter Braun, they manage some of the top megastars in music such as Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. 

Allison was employee #1 when Scooter started SB Projects. Together, they’ve built a brand that expanded into many different verticals within the entertainment industry and beyond. However, Allison’s path to success had quite a few ups and down throughout her career. After going to Law School to become a lawyer, her unconventional transition into artist management is definitely a unique story. 

During our conversation with Allison, we got the impression that her determination and razor-sharp focus are the main reasons for her success. We learned from Allison that managing superstars has its challenges but when you believe in people around you and treat them like family, anything is possible. 

We look back at our chat with Allison as one of the most informative episodes we ever had. We hope you enjoy this episode! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way and our YouTube channel CameALongWayTV. For any questions, feedback and comments you can email us at [email protected]

This week's guest is Def Jam Recordings SVP of A&R Noah Preston. He is known for signing artists such as Jhene Aiko and Logic to the label. 

During our conversation with Noah, we talked about his own definition of success, how to standout in music industry and motivating yourself to get out of the comfort zone. 

Noah noted inspirations from his mentor, legendary producer NO I.D when it comes to hardworking and touched on the determination he sees on his own artists such as Jhene Aiko and Logic.

We hope you enjoy this episode! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way and Youtube @CameALongWayTV For any questions, feedback and comments you can email us at [email protected]