A complete analysis of Wizkid’s career is an endeavour that’ll offer immense thrills, and you’ll certainly agree with me that since Jada P (Pollock) came aboard his team, things have been different. There’s a huge difference between EME & Starboy not just in structure but also in rollout, creative direction, branding and strategy.
The workings are truly global and can be partly credited to Jada P ’s expert handling of what is easily the biggest music career in Africa’s history.
As an Industry Executive, Jada P wields a portfolio that includes a large number of big names in Music, Fashion & Football. Starting out in Image Consultancy, her first company named after her first moniker Jada Styles is reported to be so successful in branding & Image Consultancy that she’s got a collaborative fashion brand with Didier Drogba which is still located in the United Kingdom till date. She also did a visual merchandising stint with Gucci Mane.
Jada Pollock’s over a decade-long career can boast of a clientele list that’s envious. She has contributed, in no small measure, to the careers of global stars such as Chris Brown, and Pia Mia whom she reportedly engineered her global success. She achieved this through a collaboration with Bu Vision LLC, a US-based management and publishing company that works with famous stars including Kanye West, Akon, Chris Brown, Jeremih, Pia Mia, among others, all the while, her record working with these brands have been untarnished.
As a celebrity, Jada P may be known popularly for her affair with Wizkid resulting in a love child; Zion or Zeeman.
Jada Pollock was born in the United States, on 20th of October, 1983. She grew up and schooled in the United Kingdom. She graduated with a degree in Business Management from the University of WestMinister. She started her career by founding a Concierge Company named Envy Lifestyle that catered to numerous famous premier league stars, but was later relaunched as Jada Styles, a full scale image consultancy and brand management company.
Upon a critical look at Wikid’s career trajectory, then you’ll notice a strong leverage of relationships to his credit from 2015 till now. Everything has been strategic from his sensational Drake X Skepta remix of the global hit song Ojuelegba till today. A lot of this can be credited to Jada Pollock who already had an established network of relationships in the United States dependable enough to bet the career of Africa’s largest music export in history on.
Made In Lagos was a result of a momentum built over the years in one massive interconnected scheme that has slingshotted them to the top 1% of the billboard charts and multiple Grammy Nominations & Considerations.
Jada Pollock’s influence on Wizkid’s career did not start with Made In Lagos, projects like Sounds From The Other Side which boasts of a host of heavyweight western influences but still couldn’t crack the American market and Soundman VOL I can also be credited to Jada who is a strong part of Wizkid’s Management Trio; Jada Pollock, Dumi Oburota of Disturbing London & veteran manager Sunday Are of List Entertainment.
Although SOFTS did not crack the American market, the influence it had over urban culture in the United States was the first of its kind.
In her Billboard Music Exec of the Week editorial, a part of Billboard’s way of celebrating outstanding managers in the music business, Jada revealed;
“It’s nice to see the US growing to appreciate African Music. Afropop artists have put in the work over the years to get to this point of recognition”.
She also revealed that when the album was initially released, it was hit with critical reviews, and it rode the waves of its collaborations to stay engaged, but it took the album almost a whole year to really catch fire in the United States.
According to Jada, there were no particular strategies used to push Essence to the forefront of the march. Although Wizkid had wanted a video for the record before it’s organic ascent, the label didn’t approve until the song started making a splash on DSPs and with the release of a befitting video, the song shot to the top of the Billboard charts and earned a Justin Bieber remix that eventually cracked the Billboard Hot 100.
Made In Lagos is currently the only African album ever to spend 52 weeks at the top of the Billboard Global Albums chart.
While describing how she met Wizkid and developed a romantic and working relationship with him, the 38-year old mother of one admitted that in the true sense of it, they connected on a personal level first before the business side.
At the time she met Wizkid, she was doing a stint as Chris Brown’s manager, Wiz had worked on African Bad Gyal with him and Jada & Wiz have since kept in contact.
When he left EME, they connected again on the business side, handling his management alongside veteran Sunday Aare & Dumi Oburota who both doubled as his Nigerian & UK managers while she handled his US penetration. She was also reportedly very instrumental to Wizkid’s major label deal with RCA in 2015.
In a predominantly male dominated industry, Jada Pollock has definitely made her mark, and hopefully her work with Wizkid is just a continuation of an already blossoming career.
Written by AfrobeatsMerije.
Bisi-Taiwo Chukwumerije is a blood-bound Nigerian music journalist & A&R in his early 20s. He goes by the pseudonym ‘AfrobeatsMerije’, and considers himself one of the greatest psyche in Afrobeats.
Tweet your favourite songs, EPs, LPs, Albums, & music projects at him; @AfrobeatsMerije.
The post With The Ascent Of Essence, Made In Lagos Grammy Nod & A Billboard Hot 100 Crack; Jada P’s African Music Catalogue is Definitely Unrivalled! appeared first on tooXclusive.
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