LENA WAITHE TO LAUNCH HILLMAN GRAD RECORDS, A JOINT VENTURE PARTNERSHIP WITH DEF JAM RECORDINGS
EMMY-AWARD WINNING WRITER, CREATOR, PRODUCER, ACTOR TO LAUNCH RECORD LABEL AND DEVELOP THE NEXT GENERATION OF UNDERREPRESENTED ARTISTS
MUSIC EXECUTIVES TEBS MAQUBELA AND ALBERT COOKE BROUGHT IN TO SIGN AND DEVELOP NEW TALENT
March 10, 2021 – New York, NY - Def Jam Recordings is entering into an exclusive joint venture partnership with Emmy Award winning writer, creator, producer and actor Lena Waithe to launch Hillman Grad Records, it was announced today by Waithe and Jeff Harleston, Interim CEO, Def Jam Recordings.
Hillman Grad Records is committed to identifying and developing artists in hopes of priming them for long term success. By leveraging opportunities across music, TV & film, our goal is to capitalize on the cultural significance generated when these worlds meaningfully intersect.
Joining Hillman Grad Records to sign and develop talent will be experienced music executives Tebs Maqubela and Albert Cooke. Head of A&R Tebs Maqubela joins Hillman Grad Records from Columbia Records, where as an A&R executive he signed and developed talent. Prior to that, Maqubela worked in artist management affiliated with the Brockhampton camp. Hillman Grad Records General Manager Albert Cooke finds himself returning home, so to speak; Cooke spent years at Island Def Jam as an Artist Development executive before heading to Soundcloud, where he was instrumental in the Artist Relations department. Maqubela and Cooke will report to Lena Waithe (CEO) and Rishi Rajani (President of Film & TV) of Hillman Grad Productions.
“Music and storytelling have always gone hand in hand. And I think that’s because musicians are the storytellers we love the most,” said Lena Waithe. “They can take complex emotions and simplify it in four minutes, the same artist can sing about the revolution and falling in love. Music is a part of us. It’s so often connected to our fondest and sometimes our darkest memories. Musicians tell our story. At Hillman Grad Productions we believe in identifying and amplifying new talent, and we want to continue to do that in the music industry. Jeff Harleston and his phenomenal team at Def Jam have given us their trust and their resources to help develop artists that not only have potential, but staying power. We look forward to the journey ahead.”
“Lena Waithe has established herself as one of the most artistically and commercially successful creators and storytellers at work today,” said Jeff Harleston. “Lena has a profound understanding of and appreciation for music. After making her mark on television as an actor and writer, then smoothly shifting gears into her role as a film producer and CEO, it follows that she would now spread her wings at the helm of this exciting new record label. Def Jam is the perfect partner for Lena Waithe’s new Hillman Grad venture, and we look forward to bringing her musical vision to life.”
Waithe was named the Hollywood Reporter’s 2020 “TV Producer of the Year,” the youngest ever to receive the honor. It acknowledged her work on series “Twenties,” “Boomerang” and "The Chi," which received a prestigious Peabody Award nomination. Waithe also received two 2019 NAACP Image Award nominations on behalf of “The Chi” for the “Pilot” and “The Whistle” episodes.
ABOUT HILLMAN GRAD PRODUCTIONS
Hillman Grad Productions is a development and production company committed to creating art that goes against the status quo and gives a platform to marginalized peoples by providing a platform for diverse voices across all mediums. Founded by Emmy-Award winning writer Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani, the company currently has projects at Netflix, Disney, BET, Showtime, HBO, Universal, MGM and Amazon. Their comprehensive slate includes the Sundance Film Festival 2020 award-winner The 40-Year-Old Version, Radha Blank’s groundbreaking film, which blends real life and fiction to follow its protagonist, a down-on-her luck New York playwright, who decides to reinvent herself and salvage her artistic voice by becoming a rapper at age 40. Netflix released the film globally on October 9th to rave reviews and it won Best Screenplay and was nominated for the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award at the 2021 IFP Gotham Awards. Their first film released under this banner was Queen & Slim, which Waithe wrote and was directed by Melina Matsoukas; Universal Pictures released the film in November 2019. Current projects include include BET’s hit comedy series Twenties, which was picked up for a second season. Currently in development is a Sammy Davis Jr biopic based on his daughter Tracey Davis’ book Sammy Davis Jr.: My Father. The screenplay will be written by David Matthews with Waithe & Rajani producing alongside Sight Unseen Pictures. Additionally, it was recently announced Waithe penned the script for Universal’s forthcoming Talent Show. Cynthia Erivo is set to star in the drama with Waithe serving as an executive producer alongside State Street Pictures and Rajani will oversee for Hillman Grad Productions. Focus Features just announced it has teamed with Sight Unseen, Makeready and Hillman Grad Productions on the feature directorial debut of A.V. Rockwell, A Thousand and One. Other projects currently in various stages of production and/or development include: Them for Amazon; Untitled Kid Fury Project for HBO and Reawakening, Neil Paik’s Six by Eight Press short story for Amazon Studios.
About Def Jam Recordings:
Founded in 1984, Def Jam Recordings has represented the cutting-edge in hip-hop music for more than 35 years. Def Jam began as a maverick independent label inspired by downtown New York City’s vibrant street culture and the emerging sound of hip-hop, pioneered by iconic stars like LL Cool J, Slick Rick, The Beastie Boys and Public Enemy. Over the following two decades, Def Jam established its dominance with superstar acts like Jay-Z, DMX, Ja Rule, Method Man & Redman, Ludacris, Rihanna, Jeezy, and the inimitable Kanye West. Now in its fourth decade, Def Jam’s music and lifestyle has grown into a global brand – synonymous with creativity, quality and authenticity – encompassing a diverse roster of marquee and emerging stars like West, Justin Bieber, Alessia Cara, Logic, Pusha T, Jadakiss, Jeremih, Big Sean, YG, 2 Chainz, Dave East, and Jhene Aiko, among others. Today, Def Jam has expanded its global brand reach to become the most followed major label on all major social media platforms.