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Jury

Amaechi Uzoigwe
Founder / Manager / Entrepreneur
Run the Jewels Inc; Portfolio A

NEW YORK, USA // Amaechi Uzoigwe is an award-winning creative executive, entrepreneur & innovator with a history of building celebrated careers, brands & ventures. His work has been the recipient of 1x Emmy, 2x Cannes Lions, 7x CLIO’s, & 12x Libera Music Awards, and is the only 3x winner of it’s coveted Marketing Genius trophy.

Currently, as co-manager & business partner of multi-Grammy-winning & Gold Certified artists Killer Mike & EL-P of Run the Jewels, he oversees music, publishing, creative marketing, visual media, technology, e-com, apparel, touring, licensing & philanthropy, and is also co-founder of Juice Runners and BaRTJ.club, creators & purveyors of award-winning craft beverages. Most recently, he’s launched Portfolio Africa & Studio A.I. (Studio of African Intelligence), representing talent from African & the diaspora, plus IP investment, technology, media & social impact. Clients includes The Cavemen, Songhoy Blues, DJ Tunez, Mwanje, Fat Tony & DAP the Contract. He’a also an executive producer at GRAiNEY Pictures in LA, an award-winning production company whose most recent documentary, Unzipped, was short-listed for the 2024 Academy Awards, and was recently named Music Jury Chair for the 2025 Clio Awards.

Additionally, in 2006 Amaechi was elected founding Chairman of A2IM, which represents the multi billion dollar U.S. independent music sector. During his tenure, the global digital rights organization M.E.R.L.I.N., Indie Music Week and the Libera Music Awards were all conceived & launched, and have become pillars of the indie music ecosystem. Since 2021, he’s been adjunct faculty at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute; was Visiting Industry Professional at Ohio University in 2022; plus sits on the boards of the non-profits NYCxDESIGN, which represents New York City’s multiple design disciplines; and iVoted.org, the world’s largest digital music festival. Via his philanthropic efforts, he’s helped raise $1M+ over the past 5 years to support victims of police violence, legal support for peaceful protesters plus causes empowering women, children, LGBTQ+ & immigrant communities.

During his career Amaechi has had the distinct pleasure of working with some of culture’s most critically-acclaimed & celebrated talent, including Outkast, Danger Mouse, Zack de la Rocha, Spike Lee, Idris Elba, Seal, Rick Rubin, Davido, Angelique Kidjo, Jack White, WizKid, Trent Reznor, Lorde, Mos Def, A-Trak, Black Thought, Young Thug, DJ Shadow, Saul Williams, Afel Boucoum, TV on the Radio, Just Blaze, Erykah Badu, Dizzee Rascal, J Dilla, Kool Keith, Matthew Shipp, and China Forbes (Pink Martini), plus visual artists Banksy, PHASE 2, Virgil Bloh, Vulcan, Alfonso Cuaron, David Lynch, Michel Gondry, AG Rojas, Jermaine Rogers, Titmouse (Rick & Morty), Beeple, Mike Giant & more.

With a journey starting from bi-racial immigrant kid to budding football star to bar bouncer to bookstore clerk to human rights worker in Jamaica to aspiring filmmaker who caught a break from Spike Lee to music manager to business owner & more, Amaechi has charted his own unique path to the present. He has deep experience in all aspects of the music business, an extensive network with premier ecosystem partners & brands, and has been recognized as a world-class creative strategist & marketer. An early adopter & innovator in the tech space, he launched his first website in 1994, first desktop app in 2003, a digital download store in 2005, a music tech start up in 2008, and with Run the Jewels, jumped head first into the worlds of VR, AR, 3D, gaming, blockchain & more to create world-class, award-winning content. His expertise & portfolio range across multiple sectors globally, achieving $75M+ in revenues.

Public Speaking invitations include: Harvard Law School, Cannes Lions, SXSW, NY Times, Grammys/NARAS, San Francisco MusicTech, NYU, Parsons School of Design, Cardozo Law School, Brooklyn Law School, Drexel University, Ohio University, Berklee School of Music, MIDEM, Music Manager’s Forum, American Bar Assoc., NY:LON Conference, RapCon, CLIO Cannabis Awards, MDL BST.

A graduate of the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science & the Arts, Amaechi resides in Harlem, NY with his 2 daughters. He is represented by the Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Previously:

Monotone Artist Management - Jack White, Jamie Foxx, Danger Mouse, Vampire Weekend, LCD Soundsystem, Run the Jewels, Benjamin Booker, Mike Snow.

American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) - Founding Chairman (elected). Trade organization overseeing & supporting the multi-billion dollar US independent record community.

Definitive Jux Records (Co-Founder) - EL-P, Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox, RJD2, MURS official.fm (Head of Content & Business affairs) - partner in Swiss-based music tech start up. Clientele included Shady Records, Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, Scoop Deville, AWOL Nation, Red Bull Records & more.

PLUG Independent Music Awards (Co-Founder) - guests included St. Vincent, Dizzee Rascal, TV on the Radio, Sufjan Stevens, Aziz Ansari, The National, Nick Cave, Jose Gonzales, Patton Oswalt, Dillinger Escape Plan, Pavement, Bat for Lashes. World’s Fair Artist & Label Management (Co-Founder) Flaming Lips, J Dilla, Devendra Barnhart, Dr. Octagon, Jarvis Cocker, EL-P, Rough Trade, BBE, Bella Union.