Music · Culture · Strategy · Media

Emanuel
Okusanya.

I build the story, the strategy and the moment around music.

Music strategist, brand marketer, journalist and host working across artist campaigns, global editorial, partnerships and live experiences.

Explore the work ↓ View latest work ↗ View résumé ↗

Open to the right full-time role Brooklyn · Global

PerspectiveEditorial brain × partnership builder

ExperienceVariety · Warner Music Group · EBONY

Also open toHosting + editorial camera work

The work, in brief

A career in
the music.

I work where music meets media, artist strategy and live culture. At Variety, I built brand partnerships alongside music reporting. At Warner Music Group, I shaped artist narratives across platforms and markets. At EBONY, I led music coverage, curation and on-camera storytelling. The throughline is connecting artists and audiences through a story that feels true.

Read the résumé ↗

01 / Variety partnerships

Building
the moment.

Partnership strategy and execution built around the people, platforms and cultural moments audiences already care about.

Variety · Hitmakers · 2020–2023

Where music, talent and brands met culture.

Across multiple editions of Variety Hitmakers, I supported the partnership lifecycle—from internal pitch development and client calls to branded print, step-and-repeat production, event execution and editorial support.

The work connected TikTok, Sony Audio, IHG and Luminate with a talent ecosystem spanning Dua Lipa, Elton John, Latto, Jack Harlow, Lizzo, Future, Selena Gomez and Omar Apollo.

TikTok × Hitmakers 2022 · reported partnership results

2B+Press coverage impressions

9.8MSocial video views

892KArticle takeover impressions

190KDaily Variety newsletter sends

Program-wide figures reported in Variety’s 2022 TikTok recap; they represent the partnership’s delivery, not individual attribution.

Partnership case study Variety
Hitmakers

TikTokSony AudioIHGLuminate

Built across editorial, branded content and the live room—where sponsor objectives and talent experience had to land together.

The receipt · Hitmakers 2022

A partnership that showed up across the room, the issue and the feed.

TikTok’s integration included a branded photo wall, an award presentation to Omar Apollo, on-stage executive remarks, a Hitmakers issue back-cover ad, step-and-repeat inclusion and red-carpet correspondence.

View full 2022 recap ↗

Variety Hitmakers 2022 signage with TikTok — Title sponsor presence

TikTok integration recap slide — Integrated partnership plan

Talent arrivals at Variety Hitmakers 2022 — Talent + red carpet

Event atmosphere at Variety Hitmakers 2022 — Culture in the room

Beyond Hitmakers

Partnerships across screens and rooms.

Variety Streaming Room

Coordinated virtual screenings, bringing programming and partners to audiences online.

In-person events

Coordinated live events where partners, talent and audiences came together in the room.

Power of Young Hollywood

End-to-end partnerships

Supported partnership work from pitch and client coordination through branded integration and event execution, as with Hitmakers.

02 / Editorial work

Taste.
Access.
Foresight.

Reporting that helped chronicle African music’s global rise while moving between artist profiles, cultural criticism, exclusives, reviews and music-business reporting.

Actual article imagery · Variety

Variety · Profile · 2026

Ayra Starr on freedom, pressure and “Starrgirl” ↗

Global-star access with a conversational, artist-first point of view—part of a body of work documenting Afrobeats in real time.

01Missy Elliott’s first arena tour is an overdue triumphEBONY · Hip-hop · Concert review↗ 02Rhiannon Giddens on Black roots, banjos and BeyoncéEBONY · Folk, country + roots · Interview↗ 03Ravyn Lenae turns Blue Note NYC into a pocket of soulEBONY · R&B · Live review↗ 04UTA’s early bet on Afrobeats pays offVariety · Music business · Industry reporting↗ 05Explore the selected archiveProfiles · Exclusives · Video · Reviews→

Destin Conrad in EBONY imagery selected by Emanuel Okusanya

EBONY · Artist interview

Destin Conrad · 2025

Love on Digital, Gen-Z R&B and building a debut on his own terms ↗

An artist-first interview connecting identity, sonic world-building and the changing language of contemporary R&B.

Chase Shakur in the imagery accompanying Emanuel Okusanya's EBONY feature

EBONY · Album profile

Chase Shakur · 2025

“Wonderlove” blends raw emotion with alt-R&B ↗

A close read of a debut that turns vulnerability, atmosphere and genre fluidity into a fully realized artistic statement.

Full archive Read Emanuel at Variety Profiles · Exclusives · Reviews · Music business ↗ Full archive Read Emanuel at EBONY Interviews · Culture · Video · Music discovery ↗

Emanuel Okusanya reporting from the EBONY Power 100

EBONY · Music Editor

Rebuilding a music point of view for an iconic Black media brand.

The mandate moved beyond the daily news cycle: artist interviews, Artist of the Month, reviews, concert coverage, video, social listening and live programming—built for a distinct Black cultural audience.

CoverUsher · EBONY Power 100 2024 talent booking and editorial package

LiveCoco Jones + Durand Bernarr performances around a defining music moment

CurationCurated STAMPED by EBONY, selecting and contextualizing emerging artists shaping the next wave of Black music

EditorialCleo Sol · Ravyn Lenae · Destin Conrad · Rhiannon Giddens · Tyla

AudienceSocial listening and internet communities used to sharpen editorial relevance

03 / Artist + Label Strategy · Warner Music Group

Artist +
label strategy.

Audience intelligence, narrative strategy and cross-functional execution built to help artists travel across platforms, markets and cultural moments.

Senior Manager · Media Relations

Led communications across simultaneous global campaigns—identifying audience and cultural signals, sharpening artist positioning and aligning label, platform, media and management stakeholders around a clear release narrative.

Audience intelligenceArtist positioningPlatform partnershipsExecutive counselGlobal coordinationCross-functional leadership

15+Artist campaigns supported

5Campaigns running concurrently

3+Key platform ecosystems activated

Audience + cultural intelligence

Signals into strategy

Monitored emerging scenes, platform behavior and cultural conversations to shape positioning for Big Freedia, Young Jonn, Blaqbonez and Asha Imuno.

Platform ecosystems

Discovery beyond press

Built opportunities across YouTube Music, Apple Music, SiriusXM Pandora, TikTok and Snapchat—connecting releases to video, editorial and fan discovery.

Narrative architecture

Distinct artists, distinct stories

Translated creative direction and business priorities into targeted campaigns for Olivia O’Brien and Big Freedia, and helped market Amelia Moore’s Timbaland-produced “Back to Him.”

Catalog + legacy

New entry points

Connected Daft Punk’s catalog and Ciara’s Beauty Marks with timely editorial angles, platform moments and new audience discovery.

ADA Amplified

Built the room

Created an internal live-performance series that gave artists a stage for new music while strengthening relationships with teams and partners.

Cross-functional influence

Aligned for launch

Worked across A&R, marketing, commercial, streaming, international, legal and senior leadership while managing up to five campaigns at once.

Selected campaign imagery

Artists in the world.

A visual cross-section of the releases, editorial moments and platform placements around the Warner Music Group roster.

Full Nemzzz NME cover, photographed by Jamie Salmons — **Nemzzz**NME cover · Photo: Jamie Salmons

Daft Punk Interstella 5555 theatrical poster — **Daft Punk**Interstella 5555

Paris HiltonInfinite Icon

Nemzzz featured in Spotify's RAP UK playlist artwork — **Nemzzz**Spotify RAP UK

Nemzzz On the Radar freestyle artwork — **Nemzzz**On the Radar

Olivia O’Brien performing at Sofar Sounds with a guitarist — **Olivia O’Brien**Sofar Sounds performance

Amelia Moore and Timbaland in imagery around Back to Him — **Amelia Moore**“Back to Him” · produced by Timbaland

04 / On-camera + SXSW

The story
moves live.

Thoughtful, witty and intentional conversations built for stages, cameras and rooms where culture is happening in real time.

Emanuel Okusanya moderating an African music panel at SXSW 2026

SXSW 2026 · Moderator

Unlocking Africa: Real Partnerships and Real Results

A conversation about moving African music partnerships beyond buzzwords and toward meaningful execution. It anchors a broader hosting practice spanning artist Q&As, editorial interviews, panels, red carpets, festivals, brand events and digital video.

ModeratingEditorial interviewsArtist Q&AsRed carpetsBrand events

View SXSW session ↗ Watch IDK interview ↗

Portrait of Emanuel Okusanya in motion — PerspectiveIn the room and in motion.

Emanuel Okusanya in a green knit hat holding a microphone during an interview — IDK · The Real Ones ShowWatch the artist conversation ↗

Emanuel Okusanya reporting with an EBONY microphone at the VMAs — Live coverageRed carpets, festivals and cultural moments.

05 / The throughline

Build.
Tell.
Host.

I’ve built a career moving between the newsroom, the label, the brand room and the stage.

That range lets me see a music story as more than content: it can be an artist narrative, a partnership, a live experience, an audience insight or the beginning of a bigger cultural moment. The throughline is simple—understand what matters, shape it into something people care about, and know how to articulate it when the lights come on.

Full-time · Contract · Editorial · Speaking · Hosting

Let’s make
it matter.

contact@emanuelokusanya.com ↗

EmanuelOkusanya.

A career inthe music.