Music executive Natina Nimene received the New Guard Award, celebrating her role as a game-changing leader who inspired future generations and energized the music industry. The award was presented by her mentor, Juliette Jones.
“When I met her, she was a passionate, energetic, sassy 23-year-old,” Jones said. “Today she’s all of those things, except for being 23. I think it’s important to note that she has managed to remain herself and excel in such an incredibly challenging business. I think it’s what is a big part of her superpower.”
In accepting the award, Nineme said: “I’m so used to being on the other side of rooms like this that when Connie called me, I thought she wanted someone else, like I was so confused … and she’s like, ‘No, I want you,’ so I was stunned, but I am so grateful, I’ve always been the person on the other side of these rooms with my head down, doing the work and making sure everyone else shines, so to be seen tonight means the world to me.
“Juliette, having you present me with this award, my heart is so full, and it’s so incredibly special. When she met me, I was an assistant at a radio station, and she was so fancy and so fly, and I wanted to be just like her, and I like stalked her, and she fell in love with me the first day we met, and she gave me my first shot, so you changed the trajectory, you changed the trajectory of my life, and I will never forget that. So, thank you.
“I believe deeply in empowering women and pulling as I climb and making sure there’s room at the table and building new tables where there weren’t, because none of us get here alone. I’ve had the pleasure of working with incredible artists, managers, executives throughout my career who have trusted me, challenged me, and helped to shape me. I remember being a kid interning at WDTC in Detroit, Michigan, watching the late great Lisa Coleman boss Andre 3000 and Big Boi around when they were promoting [OutKast’s] Speakerboxxx/The Love Below album, and I was stunned, and I walked up to her, and I said, ‘What?’ Because I thought I was going to be [radio personality] Angie Martinez, by the way. That’s what I thought I wanted to do, until I saw her, and then I said, ‘So what is that job?’ And she said, ‘Well, I’m a record rep,’ and I said, ‘OK, so that’s what I want to do.’ I want to boss rappers around, and I do, just kidding, just kidding. I love them.
“I didn’t fully understand it then, but I knew I wanted to be in the business, and I wanted to be in rooms where cultures were shaped, like tonight. I’m from Toledo, Ohio, a small city that didn’t even have a radio station. I used to wait for it to rain in order to hear WJLB in Detroit come in clearly. I used to pray for rain. That’s how passionate and how deep my love for music was at an early age.
“What means most to me today is the trust that artists place in me to help shape their vision, protect their voice, and bring their dreams to life. And I don’t take that lightly, as this industry continues to shift, and as the space for Black women executives can sometimes feel like it’s shrinking. It’s on us to support each other, mentor, advocate and make sure the next generation has even more access, opportunity and power than we did. Sisterhood to me is not just a bond, it’s a responsibility. It’s how we show up for each other, how we speak each other’s names in rooms we’re not in, and how we make sure none of us are left behind. I am so grateful to have so many of my sisters and friends-turned-family here with me tonight. This New Guard Award is special because it’s just not about where I’ve been, it’s about what we’re building, and I’m committed to opening doors and inspiring the next generation to walk through them boldly, and if there is a young girl here watching who’s praying for her moment the way I once prayed for rain, just know it’s coming.”
