NOISEMAKERS: TOUCHDOWN!
In our latest roundup, we present eight rising professionals from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.
This week's entrants will also find their mugs in our latest mag. Thankfully, they can lament this mortifying experience over delicious Super Bowl party leftovers.
Alena Jackson
Senior Marketing Manager, SALXCO
Jackson absolutely relished working on Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains; from the creative phase to feature disclosures, fan pop-ups and more, she considers that rollout “truly special.” At the moment, she’s got all hands on deck for rising R&B star Chxrry22—the first woman inked to The Weeknd’s XO—who will join Mariah the Scientist on tour and has new music due this year. Zendaya’s mom was Jackson’s fifth-grade teacher and Matthew Knowles was one of her college professors—he introduced her to Beyoncé. Maybe we should’ve had some schooling.
Matthew Maysonet
Head of Digital Commerce and Streaming Marketing, EMPIRE
Maysonet has crashed in Questlove’s living room after missing his train, navigated an escape room with Hailee Steinfeld, brainstormed with Busta Rhymes and produced Clive Davis’ first speaking gig at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. Today he’s building a stream team spanning all seven continents and every major music hub as EMPIRE becomes an international force to be reckoned with. When Maysonet’s not renovating his house or wrangling his mini poodle, Apple, he might be brewing his own beer. We’ve been known to brew up trouble.
Michelle Hockett
Associate Director, Marketing, Epic
Having begun her career at JAY-Z’s TIDAL, Hocket will never forget the first time she saw him at the office, when he strolled by and said, “What’s up?” After a huge year for Epic’s Tyla— “Water” was the first platinum Grammy winner Hockett’s worked on—the marketer is focused on the artist’s self-titled 3/22 debut. She’s promoting Mariah the Scientist’s album during her nearly sold-out tour and is also excited about upcoming projects from ScarLip and SPINALL. Hockett was a competitive dancer in her youth. If only she’d grand jetéd away from us, poor dear.
Jorge Ovalle
Director, Marketing Services, Warner Music Latina
Ovalle based his college thesis on emerging artist Manuel Medrano, who went on to win the 2016 Latin Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Singer-Songwriter Album, for his self-titled debut. More recently, Ovalle ran point on Blessd’s SI SABE FEST, a multiday music outing that included a celebrity soccer match—featuring Brazilian legend Ronaldinho—in support of the Colombian reggaeton star’s LP Si Sabe. Ovalle is also stoked to be part of an AI collab on Jean Pi & DEKKO’s “Señorita Remix.” In stressful moments, he finds comfort in jokes. No wonder he loves us!
Sofia Caputo
Managing Director, Stent Music Group
Caputo was thrilled for clients NERIAH, Patrick Martin and Andi when each played L.A.’s storied Troubadour in 2023. In 2024, she’s looking forward to seeing NERIAH open for Madison Beer on tour and Andi supporting Natalie Jane across the U.K. and EU. Caputo is also working with 42-times-platinum mixer Koen Heldens (XXXTENTACION) and sextuple-platinum producer-songwriter DeLorean Black (Drake). This Formula 1 fanatic would ideally make her escape from us in an open-wheel single-seat Ferrari.
Glenn “Guccio” Teague
Senior Director of A&R, ONErpm
Teague finds joy in helping the artists he’s inked bloom, “transforming into who they’re truly meant to be through their music,” and considers signing rapper-producer Major Nine (Rick Ross, Raphael Saadiq) one of the most rewarding experiences of his career. He’s lately all about Jamaican dancehall producer DJ MAC, who—coming off the success of Teejay’s “Drift,” which he co-wrote and co-produced—teamed up with Jquan and CrashDummy for December’s “Chakka.” Teague boasts that he can out-cook Gordon Ramsay. We’re still waiting for our dinner invitation.
Brittney Boston
Founder, Supreme Republic Entertainment
Boston has collaborated with Dianne Warren as an A&R for Ella Mai’s “Love Me Like You Do,” escorted Angela Bassett down the Golden Globes red carpet and helped market and A&R MC Fioti’s sextuple-platinum “Bum Bum Tam Tam” remix f/Future and J Balvin, among others. She’s now preparing for new work from client Dax following his chart-topping “To Be a Man” f/Darius Rucker and the 6/26 fashion show her nonprofit, I AM Musicology, will host during BET week. Boston was once in a Christian rap group called 3 Deep. We’re generally regarded as not 2 deep.
Chad Cohen
Talent Agent, UTA
From sold-out tours for Eli Brown and Kasablanca to Boris Brejcha closing out Coachella in 2023, Cohen’s extremely proud of his latest wins—including a client crying happy tears in his arms. He’s currently planning Brown’s biggest tour yet, devising a debut-album tour for Kasablanca, helping launch the first U.S. tours for house and techno acts like Max Dean and Hannah Laing, introducing the live iteration of Sultan + Shepard and more. Cohen says he was “born on Christmas but doesn’t claim to be Jesus.” We don’t even claim to be born; more like spawned.
