Rising Star is our monthly column in which we meet the industry’s brightest new talents. Here, we meet Sony Music Publishing’s senior A&R manager ZaZa Kazadi…
You joined SMP as a frontline A&R in January last year. How did you get your first break?
“Back in 2017, I was managing TK The Producer, an exciting young producer in the hip-hop/rap space at the time, and I was also working with ZieZie before I became his official manager. Leostaytrill’s co-manager Ade Shonubi introduced me to Lunick Bourgess, who was at Virgin EMI at the time and who offered to co-manage TK with me. After that, Lunick started bringing me around and introducing me to everyone he knew. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d be in A&R until I met with Gerard Phillips [MD, Young Songs] who brought me in as a consultant for a few months, then I met Tom Cater and Jos Watkin at BMG. Fine Group’s Marc Fineman became my mentor from 2023, and fast forward to last January, I met with David Ventura about joining the great A&R team at SMP!”
You recently signed Grammy-nominated breakout star Jordan Adetunji to SMP. In your opinion, what has been the key to his success so far?
“Jordan is an artist who is really open to trying new ideas and has a great work ethic. He’s always in the studio working, which has continued even though he’s already had a massive global hit with Kehlani [2024] – you’ve got to keep going as if you haven’t had one. I signed Jordan back in September; my sister had showed me his TikTok when the track was posted earlier in the year, then I went to a club one night, heard it and watched everyone’s reaction to it. That’s when I knew this was going to be huge.”
On your roster you also have the likes of Jo Caleb, who won an Ivor Novello award last year alongside Dave, Central Cee and Jonny Leslie for their record-breaking hit Sprinter. What do you look for when signing creatives?
“When it comes to signing writers and producers like Jo Caleb, AOD, Producer X and Tudor Monroe, they’ve got to be able to control the room, know how to play at least one instrument and be musically open, not boxed into one sound. Most importantly, they have to have hunger. On the artist side, I’ve signed artists like Shallipopi, Headie One and Brazy – who I’m really excited about and who created her own vibe called ‘Afro-Sexy’, which is Afro and electronic mixed together. It’s the same thing with artists; I expect to see hunger, drive and the willingness to work in the studio 24/7 to improve their craft.”
What one thing would you change if you ran the music business for the day?
“I would look to educate more new managers about the importance of music publishing, helping them to understand how to deal with the admin side of it. It’s important to know the essentials, such as finalising song splits and song registration at PRS, as well as how important these aspects are to making sure writers are being paid from the very start for any success their songs are having.”
As we know, the music industry is constantly evolving. With that in mind, how do you see the role of A&R changing over the next few years?
“There are obviously a lot of things being found or proven with data. However, I ultimately still feel that it remains crucially important for A&Rs like myself to remain creative – to be present in the studio and to give their input. I think a lot more young new A&Rs are starting to realise the importance of this. Data will continue to have a huge impact but it’s about finding the right balance. You need to stay true to your passion and creativity as an A&R to help support a writer or producer’s growth and career.”
