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\n\tMusic executive\u00a0Natina Nimene\u00a0received 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.<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\u201c<\/em>When I met her, she was a passionate, energetic, sassy 23-year-old,\u201d Jones said. \u201cToday she\u2019s all of those things, except for being 23. I think it\u2019s important to note that she has managed to remain herself and excel in such an incredibly challenging business. I think it\u2019s what is a big part of her superpower.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn accepting the award, Nineme said: \u201cI\u2019m 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 \u2026 and she\u2019s like, \u2018No, I want you,\u2019 so I was stunned, but I am so grateful, I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cJuliette, having you present me with this award, my heart is so full, and it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI believe deeply in empowering women and pulling as I climb and making sure there\u2019s room at the table and building new tables where there weren\u2019t, because none of us get here alone. I\u2019ve 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\u2019s] Speakerboxxx\/The Love Below <\/em>album, and I was stunned, and I walked up to her, and I said, \u2018What?\u2019 Because I thought I was going to be [radio personality] Angie Martinez, by the way. That\u2019s what I thought I wanted to do, until I saw her, and then I said, \u2018So what is that job?\u2019 And she said, \u2018Well, I\u2019m a record rep,\u2019 and I said, \u2018OK, so that\u2019s what I want to do.\u2019 I want to boss rappers around, and I do, just kidding, just kidding. I love them.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI didn\u2019t 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\u2019m from Toledo, Ohio, a small city that didn\u2019t 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\u2019s how passionate and how deep my love for music was at an early age.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhat 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\u2019t take that lightly, as this industry continues to shift, and as the space for Black women executives can sometimes feel like it\u2019s shrinking. It\u2019s 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\u2019s a responsibility. It\u2019s how we show up for each other, how we speak each other\u2019s names in rooms we\u2019re 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\u2019s just not about where I\u2019ve been, it\u2019s about what we\u2019re building, and I\u2019m committed to opening doors and inspiring the next generation to walk through them boldly, and if there is a young girl here watching who\u2019s praying for her moment the way I once prayed for rain, just know it\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n