Tunji Balogun | |
---|---|
Alma mater | Pomona College |
Occupation | CEO, Def Jam Recordings |
Website | defjam |
Tunji Balogun is a Nigerian American record label executive. He is the CEO of Def Jam Recordings.[1] A co-founder of Keep Cool, he was the executive vice president of A&R for RCA Records.[2] Balogun signed or participated in the signing of artists including Brockhampton, Childish Gambino, Goldlink, H.E.R., Khalid, SZA, Bryson Tiller, and Cozz.[3][4] He was named CEO of Def Jam in August 2021, and assumed the position in January 2022.[5]
Balogun began his career as a marketing intern at Warner Brothers Records and was hired as an assistant at the label after he graduated from Pomona College in 2004. He later held a position in A&R at Interscope, where he worked with artists signed through Bad Boy Entertainment and Shady Records, in addition to Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Keyshia Cole, One Republic, and others. He joined RCA in 2015 as senior vice president of A&R, and was promoted to executive vice president in 2018. At the time of his promotion, RCA announced that it had entered into a joint venture with Balogun, Courtney Stewart, Jon Tanners and Jared Sherman to establish Keep Cool.[6] The first artist signed to Keep Cool was Normani.[7]
References
- ^ Eggertsen, Chris (August 10, 2021). "Tunji Balogun Named Def Jam CEO". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Tunji Balogun launches label JV with RCA Records, as he's promoted to EVP of A&R". Music Business Worldwide. 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
- ^ Leight, Elias (2018-11-09). "Lucky Daye Doesn't Want to Fit In". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
- ^ "A&R Spotlight: RCA's Tunji Balogun on Working With Bryson Tiller, SZA & Khalid". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
- ^ Halperin, Shirley (2021-08-10). "RCA's Tunji Balogun Headed to Def Jam Recordings as Chairman-CEO (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
- ^ Payne, Ogden. "RCA Announces Joint Venture With Keep Cool And CoFounder Tunji Balogun". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
- ^ "25 Music Insiders To Follow On TwitterTunji Balogun". Complex. Retrieved 2019-06-11.