NOISEMAKERS:
OFF THE HOOK
In our latest roundup, we present eight more stars of tomorrow from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.
This week's entrants will also find their faces in our most recent mag. Lucky for them, this feature—and $13.99—will get them a bottomless shrimp bucket from participating Red Lobster locations on National Shrimp Day.
Ashley Graver
Global Head of Creative Partnerships, Spotify
During her seven-plus years at Spotify, Graver has learned how to twerk―from Anitta at the Festa Kisses event in Miami―and drive a boat―with Megan Thee Stallion at the Fever release party in Houston, among other educational adventures. Recent highlights span the debut of Today’s Top Hits, a landmark AI experience with The Weeknd for After Hours and Swedish House Mafia’s Paradise Again happening at Coachella. Speaking of festivals, Graver is also the boss of Body Bauble, maker of adhesive face jewelry. We fear not even jewelry would make our faces presentable.
Alex Ciccimarro
VP, Marketing, RCA
Back when Ciccimarro was doing digital for Cardi B, the Brooklyn native set up the “Bodak Yellow” video on his phone from Junior’s, the Flatbush Ave. eatery famed for its cheesecake. In the past year, he’s gotten Sleepy Hallow (whose “2055” has been certified platinum) named a Spotify RADAR artist, put Young Nudy on the road to selling out headlining dates nationwide and positioned TOBi to win the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year (for Elements Vol. 1). The Bald God says he’s “done basically every job in the music biz.” No one could accuse us of that.
Stephanie Carrillo
Director, Marketing & Digital Strategy, Motown Records
When TikTok was called Musical.ly and Carrillo was a UMG account manager, she launched the company’s first in-house influencer/creator network. These days she’s working with Vince Staples (whose eponymous album made a raft of “Best of 2021” lists), City Girls (who had fans screaming at Coachella), Elhae (whose Aura III dropped last year), Duke Deuce (2021’s Duke Nukem), Tiwa Savage (2021’s Water & Garri) and Malachiii (new single: “Hold Me”). We’re told Carrillo loves her job almost as much as she loves tater tots and chicken tenders. We cannot relate.
Pablo Batista
Head of Management, NEON16
Batista has helped hitmaking producer and songwriter Tainy—whose credits include no less than Cardi B’s “I Like It,” Bad Bunny’s “DÁKITI” and Kali Uchis’ “telepatía”—develop into a world-renowned artist. A founding member of Tainy and Lex Borrero’s Miami creative hub NEON16, Batista is currently focused on Tainy’s upcoming album, DATA, and the relaunch of reggaeton veteran Yandel’s platinum solo career. On top of overseeing management and A&R, the former Roc Nation exec moonlights as a comedian. We consider ourselves comedians, though haters insist on calling us “clowns.”
Rahsaan “Shake” Phelps
VP, A&R, SALXCO
When Chicagoan Shake was tasked by Ye with contributing to Donda 2, he supplied writer clients Bump J and Fat Money (now recording with Dr. Dre). Another recent highlight: walking the Grammy red carpet (his first time) alongside Dreezy, who was up for a pair of awards. He’s involved in projects from Fat Money with Cardo Got Wings (released 4/22), Dreezy x Hitboy (5/22), TikTok sensation Trinity Marie (whose debut EP is being produced by Dr. Luke) and Metro Boomin. Phelps spent a decade working at stock exchanges. As you can imagine, he’s selling HITS short.
Katie Kay
Senior Director, Marketing, Cinematic Music Group
Kay partnered with DJ Khaled to promote Flipp Dinero’s “Leave Me Alone,” which hit #1 at Urban radio and is now quadruple platinum. She also advanced Cam’ron’s Purple Haze 2, escorting the rapper to Colombia for the “Medellin” video, shot at Pablo Escobar’s former home. She’s currently working with Big Yavo, whose “Rich” inspired nearly 1m videos after it was adopted by TikTok royalty Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae. At NYU, Kay was on the varsity track-and-field team. She still enjoys running and hiking. We get most of our exercise bitching and moaning.
Nick Maiale
Founder & CEO, jump.global
During the pandemic, Maiale started helping folks in the biz navigate their careers and aiding in the development of their brands, in part by getting them on panels, podcasts and lists (like Forbes’ “30 Under 30”). He presented his own “Personal Identity in the Music Business” panel at this year’s SXSW. The Philly-bred entrepreneur, who began working at his family’s Italian deli when he was 10 and still lends a hand during the holidays, is striving to “make the music business a more human place to work.” We can contribute absolutely nothing to that effort.
Jaide Lewis
Director, Digital Marketing, Capitol Records
Lewis has been key to the rise of Pooh Shiesty, whose “Back in Blood” was certified triple platinum in November. She helped achieve that during lockdown by producing virtual meet-and-greets with 1,000+ students and arranging an Audiomack Fine Tuned performance that amassed 2m views. Lewis is now boosting Kay Flock’s debut, The D.O.A. Tape. “I love creating spaces for artists to tell their most authentic stories,” she says. “I want to be the bridge where music and culture meet.” A bridge to nowhere, we pretty much just take up space.
