Valentine ‘Valo’ Ngaji: The Record Label CEO Elevating Talents

Since its inception, record label KeyQaad and its artists have significantly grown. This is owed greatly to the relentless workforce geared by its management. At the genesis of KeyQaad, the founders were oblivious of what could happen in the future when they received an email from Omah Lay, where he introduced his song to them. In present times, Omah Lay ranks as one of the leading disruptive voices in the Nigerian entertainment space.

KeyQaad’s massive success can undoubtedly be ascribed to the philosophies guiding its CEO and Co-founder, Valentine “Valo” Ngaji. He holds on to the dear words of L.A. Reid, who in one of his books wrote, “Keep the lights on, keep the doors open, and a star will walk in.” This has simply made Valo saunter about his daily business with the belief that he would always find someone with the incredible potential he looks out for. So far, KeyQaad, under Valo’s leadership, has signed artists that are currently taking over the entertainment space – Omah Lay, KaeStyle and M3LON. The label has released a number of records that have gone on to amass local and international audiences, bringing the record label closer to its vision.

A man on a mission, Valo opines that real work is in finding that particular artist that is not only gifted or talented, but also relentless in creating art regardless of the time and place. KeyQaad is also focused on maintaining a long relationship with its artists. This simply allows the talents to work smoothly while the company interprets their feelings, and responds appropriately. Valo believes that “You can always make a hit with the perfect artist. You feel them, and you learn their story. It makes everything else easier.”

The CEO and business man notes that KeyQaad is geared at making music that will stay with listeners forever. To achieve this, he ensures that KeyQaad’s artistes have a number of tracks, albums, and E.Ps under their belt. So far, KeyQaad is notably known as the fastest-rising record label in Nigeria.

In any record label, the CEO’s job can never be overruled, because the responsibility of that role goes beyond simply overseeing a recording artiste, or curating music. Everyday, CEOs discover fresh talents everywhere, and social media has made reaching out to these talents much faster. Africa is filled with numerous talents that keep developing their art, and some others never get the chance to show what they can do.

This is simply ascribed to the state of the continent, and Valo believes that while everyone cannot be recording artists at the same time, the music industry in Africa is especially big enough to house different unique talents that work together to ensure that listeners enjoy music. It is the responsibility of the CEO of a record label to identify these talents, and bring them together to achieve a particular goal: curating timeless songs.

Valo is a charismatic leader, who has adopted a transformational leadership style into the management of KeyQaad. This places him as a role model to his employees, who clearly understand the defined vision for the record label.

His approach to leadership has unlocked doors of innovation among employees, has generally created a positive workplace culture, and has developed high-value interpersonal relationships among all acts in the record label. Ayomide Daniel, an A&R and Digital Strategist at KeyQaad, when asked about Valo, had this to say ; “With Valo, you know you’re in very good hands because he is an exceptional leader who allows you do the work and grow in the process.”
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