Wendy Goldstein, Senior Vice President of A&R for Universal Republic Records announces the expansion of its Urban A&R department with the addition of Tab Nkhereanye as Vice President, A&R and Naim Ali McNair as Vice President, A&R.
The label has always maintained a strong foothold in hip hop, and Nkhereanye and McNair stand poised to strengthen that foundation even further. Not only has Nkhereanye seen success at RedZone Entertainment, as Vice President of Creative at Sony/ATV, and consulting for Geffen Records, he's an accomplished songwriter himself, having penned songs for everyone from Justin Bieber and Mary J. Blige to Madonna and Britney Spears.
Meanwhile, McNair has held positions in A&R at MCA Records and Warner Bros., working with the likes of The Roots, Talib Kweli, and Mike Jones to name a few. Most recently, he consulted for both Top Dawg Ent. (TDE) and Epic Records.
Both of these individuals bring diverse experience, clever insight, and invigorating energy to the table and will undoubtedly beef up the label's roster with exciting new talent and perspective.
About their 2012 hiring, Goldstein comments, "Tab and Naim are going to help usher in the next generation of hip hop artists at Republic. They're extremely dynamic, devout, and diligent, and it's an honor to be working with the both of them."
Nkheanye echoes her excitement. "I love what Monte and Avery Lipman did. This label is their blood, sweat, and tears. That passion drew me to Republic. I'm looking forward to helping develop a roster of unique artists that will end up in the mainstream. I enjoy building careers, and Republic specializes in that. I hope to create history with this team."
For McNair, the prospect of fostering and expanding the label's esteemed roster is equally thrilling. "I hope to help further grow the artist roster from a hip hop standpoint as well as help build the label's legacy. It's a groundbreaking company that's not afraid to take chances, and it's one of the most diverse labels out there."
Nkheanye began his career by helping to found Atlanta-based music production entity RedZone. He worked as a songwriter, writing Justin Bieber's first single, "One time", Mary J. Blige's "Take Me As I Am", Fantasia's "Truth Is", and "Me Against the Music" for Britney Spears and Madonna, as well as many others. As Vice President of Creative at Sony/ATV, he signed both Mike Caren and Frank Ocean. He also worked as a consultant for Geffen Records.
McNair started in the music business at producer Dallas Austin's Rowdy Records in Atlanta, GA. From there, he served as A&R for both MCA Records working under Goldstein and Warner Bros. Records as well as consulting for Top Dawg Ent. (TDE) and Epic Records.
Universal Republic is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning legends and superstar artists. It is comprised of innovative imprints and digital business ventures including Republic Nashville (The Band Perry), Cash Money (Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj), Indie Pop (Dev, The Cataracs), Lava Records (Jessie J, Black Veil Brides), SRC (Akon, Melanie Fiona), Aware Records (Mat Kearney), Brushfire (Jack Johnson, G. Love), Tuff Gong (Damian Marley), Downtown (Miike Snow), among others.
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