Came a Long Way

As the Senior Director of Music & Entertainment at Berk Communications, Morais has successfully spearheaded nationally and internationally-renowned publicity campaigns such as:- Spearheaded the international “Free Meek” PR campaign that resulted in the Grammy-nominated artist Meek Mill’s release from an unjust incarceration and inspired a renewed conversation around criminal justice reform in the United States- Organized and oversaw the press conference launch of the REFORM Alliance that attracted over 100+ prominent media members to cover JAY-Z, Meek Mill, Robert Kraft, Michael Rubin and Van Jones's criminal justice reform organization in January 2019- Managed PUMA’s global announcement of its re-entry to the basketball marketplace + the brand’s announcement of J. Cole as an ambassador- Orchestrated album publicity campaigns for award-winning musicians like Meek Mill, Yo Gotti, Fat Joe, Romeo Santos, Tinashe, The-Dream, MoneyBagg Yo, 42 Dugg, etc.

Sandra Afloarei is the Senior VP of Promotion at Epic Records. She has been selected to Billboard 40 under 40 for her outstanding work. 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 e@camealongway.com

Walter Jones is the Co-Head of A&R at Universal Music Publishing Group. 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 e@camealongway.com

Justice Baiden is the Co-Founder of LVRN a record label and artist management company currently housing artists such as 6LACK, Summer Walker, DRAM and Boogie. 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 e@camealongway.com

Wallace Joseph is the Senior Director of A&R at Warner Chappell Music. 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 e@camealongway.com

Chris Atlas is Executive Vice President of Urban Music and Marketing at Warner Records.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 e@camealongway.com

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 e@camealongway.com

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 e@camealongway.com

Pete Ganbarg is a Grammy Award winning music business executive who is currently President of A&R for Atlantic Records. 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 e@camealongway.com

Our guest this week is Jeff Burroughs, SVP of Marketing at Def Jam. An entrepreneur in spirit, Jeff faced many ups and downs throughout his career. After establishing his career at Bad Boy Records, Jeff served as a Vice President at Sony Music Entertainment and later joined Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment as Head of Commercial Relationships. Before Def Jam, he founded his own marketing, consulting and brand strategy firm Rise Entertainment in Los Angeles. During our conversation, we talked about how to shape an artists career, developing a strategy based on persona and the art of 'hustle'. Jeff highlighted the importance of 'getting back up' after experiencing lows and touched on how to make yourself valuable as a professional in music business. 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 e@camealongway.com

Our guest this week is John Ehmann. After establishing a career in the music industry as an A&R executive, he's now a serial entrepreneur also known as the manager of A$AP Rocky.Growing up, John was the go to for new music amongst his high school peers. It was only until he landed a internship at J records in college when he realized he wanted his passion for music to be his full time career. From then to now, John has gone from intern to being one of the top A&R executives in the industry, breaking acts such as Lana Del Ray, to becoming ASAP rocky’s manager and overseeing all projects associated with him. In today's discussion, John talks about establishing himself in the music industry and how to take control of your own life as you progress with your career. 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 e@camealongway.com

Our guest this week is Courtney Stewart the founder of the artist management and creative consulting house Right Hand Co. The firm's roster includes global acts such as Khalid.During our conversation, Courtney talked about how the age of streaming played an important role in breaking next-generation artists such as Khalid and the importance of seeking mentorship. Courtney gave some invaluable advice on how to adjust to the Covid-19 as an entrepreneur in music industry and beyond. 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 e@camealongway.com

Darcus Beese is a British music executive who is the President of Island Records and one of the most influential figures within the music industry. He is known for signing global artist such as Amy Winehouse and Jessie J. Music Week described Beese as "one of the great A&R people of his or any other generation"During our conversation with Darcus, we talked about the launch of his career at an early age, what the music industry looked like back then in UK and how it transformed over the years. He touched on important details that lead to a successful career and how ‘small things’ can ultimately generate big results. We’ve been fascinated by Darcus’ long-term vision, his patience and perspective on ‘time'.Darcus shared the story about how he signed Amy Winehouse to Island Records, his transition into the President role and more. 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 e@camealongway.com

Welcome back! Our first guest for Season 2 is John Fleckenstein, the Co-President of RCA Records. In this episode, we talked about his early days in the industry, projects with stars like Justin Timberlake and how to develop a global mindset when it comes to artist relevance. John talked about his transition into the Co-President role and the responsibilities that come with it, the impact of streaming services and how it's changing the role of record labels. 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 e@camealongway.com

Nelly Ortiz is the Director of Marketing and Partnerships as well as an active artist manager at Roc Nation working with artists such as DJ Khaled and J. Cole. During our conversation, Nelly mentioned how she takes advantage of every day as if it is a new beginning. She also gave valuable advice to on trying to 'chill out' and trust the process because you cannot figure out all your life at once. We found Nelly’s perspective on being okay with not knowing exactly what you want to do in the future to be relatable for the younger generation as she wrapped up the conversation by saying “have a general idea of what you want to do and see where that takes you.”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 e@camealongway.com

John Stein is Spotify's North American Lead and co-creator of popular playlist 'Pollen'. During our conversation with John, we talked about the process behind building a genre-less playlist that lead to 400,000+ followers and the importance of data when spotting trends. John lists some of his favorite artists that inspire him and touches on how cultural behavior in today's music is shifting based on various genres. We found John's advice on emerging artists extremely valuable and believe it's applicable to not just artists but anyone who wants to be a part of the music industry. 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 e@camealongway.com

Anthony Kilhoffer is a 4 time Grammy winning producer, engineer and songwriter who is also the founder of 1st Gen record label. Throughout his career, Kilhoffer worked on major projects with artists such as Kanye West, Kid Cudi and Travis Scott.During our conversation, Kilhoffer mentioned how he had to balance his work and personal life especially during working on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in Hawaii with Kanye West days after his daughter was born. He emphasized on the importance of being knowledgable about the business aspect of the music industry by highlighting the difference between 'producing a hit' vs. 'monetizing a hit'. We believe our conversation with Anthony has some valuable insights to what it takes to become a top producer that works with the most iconic talent of our time. 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 e@camealongway.com

Phylicia Fant is the Co-Head of Urban Music at Columbia Records. Before her present role, she had worked as the SVP of Publicity & Special Projects at Warner Records. Throughout her career, Phylicia was successful in breaking artists such as JoJo, Kid Cudi and Andra Day pointing out that these artists were special in evoking emotions through their music. During our conversation, we talked about how to treat artists with emotional intelligence by respecting their highs and lows while constructing solutions for such creatives. Phylicia’s advice for young professionals aspiring to be music executives was not to focus too much on what will happen in the future but to live in the present moment so that you will not miss the baby steps that will make you a better executive.We hope you enjoy this episode and use it as a source of inspiration. For visuals from each episode, follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way. For any questions, feedback and comments you can email us at e@camealongway.com

Nigel Talley is The current VP of A&R at Alamo records and has previously worked with artists such as Mase, Waka Flaka Flame, Gucci Mane and more. During our conversation, we talked about the current state of the music industry in the streaming era and how it is changing overtime. Nigel reminisces about his start in the industry through the No Way Out tour with Diddy and developing lucrative relationships in the music industry that lasted his lifetime.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 e@camealongway.com

Tuo Clark is the SVP of A&R at Def Jam overseeing top iconic talents and he has been a veteran in the industry by being a Grammy nominated producer working on hit records with artists such as Big Sean, Trey Songz and Nicki Minaj.During our conversation, we talked about how Tuo has an ‘intern mentality’ where he continues to the next opportunity with the same attentiveness without thinking about what he has achieved so far. As Tuo never settles and does more than the job description, he adviced the younger generation to get the opportunity and seize the moment because nothing is in life is calculated. Tuo’s final message to young professionals who are aspiring to be music executives was to go after what you believe in, be faithful to your dreams and when your dreams come true, remember the expectations that got you there in the first place.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 e@camealongway.com

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 e@camealongway.com

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 e@camealongway.comYou 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 e@camealongway.com

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 e@camealongway.com

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 e@camealongway.com

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 e@camealongway.com

‘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 e@camealongway.com

'You're only as hot as the last act you signed. You need change in order to grow.'— Riggs MoralesThroughout 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 e@camealongway.com

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 e@camealongway.com

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 e@camealongway.com

‘The other night there was a couple that came up to me in San Francisco and they told me “We fell in love listening to your music and this is what your music ultimately caused” and she raised a picture of their son. That’s all that I can really ask for, creating something that’s beyond background music. Having people connect with it, relate to it and have moments with it.’ — ELHAE That’s how ELHAE responded when we asked him about how he wants his music to be remembered. The Georgia-raised R&B singer first got attention after the release of his independent work Aura EP. Based on the highly positive reaction from the critics, ELHAE signed with Atlantic Records shortly after. Since then his singles such as “Doesn’t Matter” [feat Kehlani] and “Needs,” reached over 10 million-plus Spotify streams. In 2018, ELHAE had his first Coachella performance in front of 40,000 fans. This year, he released his highly anticipated album ‘Trouble in Paradise’ which he topped off with a headlining tour across the country. In this episode, ELHAE opened up about his inspirations and the real reason behind him making music. He also talked about being of off social media for nearly 2 years as he was working on his latest album. His down-to-earth attitude throughout the episode was highly inspiring, given the fact that the same night he performed at the historic Troubadour venue in Los Angeles. 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 e@camealongway.com

‘You have to be willing to fight, every single day. We are all in this room because of music. That’s powerful. Becoming a successful music executive is a tough journey, it’s definitely not easy. But if it’s really your passion, it’s worth it. — Aaron ‘Dash’ Sherrod Aaron ‘Dash’ Sherrod, is known as the SVP of A&R for Interscope Records, signing artists such as Playboi Carti, JuiceWRLD and Dreezy to the label. At just 32 years old, Dash is referred to as one of the most successful music executives in the industry when it comes to recruiting talent. In this episode, Dash talked about his early days and his passion for music which led to his determination to success. He explained his recruiting process when it comes to finding talent and gave important insights on the misperceptions around the music industry. In addition to sharing his career experience, Dash gave tips on overcoming negativity and anxiety. We think that you will find our episode with Dash both informative and funny. Enjoy! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way. For any questions, concerns and comments you can email us at e@camealongway.com

"No one thinks it’s weird if you say you’re going work out, so why do people think it’s weird when you say you’re going to meditate or you’re going to a therapist? That’s the stigma we’re trying to overcome through clothing." — Peiman Raf Madhappy is a lifestyle brand launched in 2017 by Co-Founders Noah Raf, Josh Sitt, Peiman Raf and Mason Spector. The ‘Local Optimist Group’ is using casual clothing to build a community around mental health and happiness. The brand is known for its unique pop-up events and store designs in prime locations such as Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Aspen. In this episode, two of the co-founders Noah and Peiman stopped by our studio to chat about the perception around mental health in today’s society and how they plan to make it easier for people to share their experience through their community. They talked about their early days, lessons learned and proud moments. The two co-founders also shared their vision and future plans for Madhappy. Enjoy! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.wayYou can always tune in to uclaradio.com every Friday at 1pm to catch us live.

"You have to have an outlet to get out of depression and instead of a bad one like drugs, liquor or whatever the case may be, look for something positive. If I feel down, I'll workout, write some music or go to the beach and look at the water type sh*t. Anything positive to drown it out."—CozzCozz (Cody Osagie) is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is signed to J Cole's label Dreamville Records and Interscope Records. His debut studio album Cozz & Effect, was released on October 3rd 2014. In 2015, Cozz was part of J Cole's 'Forest Hills Drive Tour' along with Big Sean, YG, Jeremih, Jhene Aiko, Pusha T and Bas. It was when he released his second album 'Effected' when Cozz found himself under the spotlight. With features including J Cole and Kendrick Lamar, 'Effected' received positive reviews from critics. During our episode, Cozz opened up on overcoming depression and finding true happiness beyond fame and fortune. He listed his inspirations, the experience he got from touring with J Cole and plans for the future. Enjoy! For visuals from each episode, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @came.a.long.way and Youtube 'CameALongWayTV'