Nigerian Music Executive and former VP of A&R at RCA, Tunji Balogun has joined Def Jam Records as CEO.
According to Variety, Balogun was hired by Def Jam after the music giant named Nicki Farag, a promotion veteran, as its executive VP and general manager.
He will succeed Paul Rosenberg, Eminem’s long-time manager, who joined the label in 2018 and left two years later to remain president of Shady Records, Eminem’s joint venture with UMG’s Interscope Geffen A&M.
Balogun’s exit from RCA comes on the heels of the appointment of Columbia Records’ Imran Majid and Justin Eshak as co-CEOs of UMG’s Island Records in a deal to take effect from January 2022
RCA hosts musicians of global repute like Wizkid and Chris Brown while Def Jam boasts of hitmakers such as BTS, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, and Kanye West.
Balogun joined RCA in 2015 after working seven-and-a-half years at Interscope. The A&R executive was involved in the signing of musicians like Khalid, Brockhampton, Normani, and Bryson Tiller.
In 2018, Balogun co-founded the label Keep Cool, a joint venture with RCA, alongside Courtney Stewart, Jon Tanners, and Jared Sherman. He was elevated to EVP that year.
