Ghazi Shami Accepts the Clive Davis Visionary Award From Olamide | SXSW London 2025 - video Dailymotion

Billboard

Ghazi Shami accepts the Clive Davis Visionary award from Olamide at SXSW London 2025.

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00:00In past years, the Clive Davis Visionary Award is usually presented at our Power 100 event

00:04before the Grammys, yet due to the wildfires in L.A. this year, we were forced to cancel that

00:10event. As such, we could not go without presenting the award this year, and in many ways, this is an

00:15even more fitting room for the occasion, given the incredibly bold vision of this year's honoree.

00:20This remarkable leader has been making big bets around the world for years, investing in artists

00:25and executive talent from Africa to Asia to the Middle East and, of course, in the U.S.,

00:31and making global waves in the process. His company, Empire, has been part of 62 Billboard

00:37Hot 100 hits as an imprint or label, including Shibuzi's A Bar Song, which tied the record

00:42as the song with the most weeks at number one in the Hot 100, as well as in history in last

00:48year at 19 weeks. Empire has also been an imprint or label on eight top 10 albums on the Billboard

00:55200, and had a hand in distributing over 150 albums that have reached the Billboard 200

01:00chart. To present this award, we'd like to welcome one of this year's global power players

01:05and the founder of Nigeria's most prominent record labels, YBNL Nation. Please give it

01:10up for Olamide.

01:11Thank you, Billboard, for having me today. Gazi has partnered with YBNL for six years, and

01:27the Empire team has helped expand the global reach of not just YBNL artists, but music from

01:34African continent as a whole. Through its hard work and strong vision, Gazi has shifted how

01:42artists and labels work together in true partnership. As Empire celebrates 15 years, we hope Gazi and

01:49Empire team continue to set the bar for independent musicians globally. Thank you.

01:55Congratulations. Thank you very much. This is my first trophy on stage, so this is a pretty surreal

02:14moment. I grew up coming to London as a kid because my mom's sister lives here, and I used to wander the

02:21streets, and I always felt like this was a good representation of what a global citizen would

02:28look like if you lived in a place where you could be a global citizen. And so I feel like, to some

02:34degree, San Francisco's a sister city in many rights. You know, I often tell people that Empire is a

02:44philanthropy company masquerading as a record label, and I truly believe that in my heart and spirit.

02:51Now, after 15 years, but it wasn't always that way. You know, to me, being a visionary means you see the

02:59need in your community, and you try to figure out how to serve that need. And I felt the local community

03:06in San Francisco and the Bay Area at large had a void in the music distribution space. We started off as

03:12being a distribution company. And then you fast forward 15 years later, and I'm blessed to say that we built a

03:19global operation that touches the four corners of the earth. We have employees in over 25 countries. We

03:25probably have the most diverse staff in the music business by design and by intention. I grew up as an

03:32immigrant kid in San Francisco to Palestinian parents who were refugees of war. And when I was a child, I

03:38often felt like I was invisible, and how would I be seen in a world that didn't see me? And so I took the

03:47initiative to build a company where everybody could be seen and everybody could be heard. And, you know,

03:54I always like to tell people if you're excellent, they can't deny your existence. So thank you,

04:01Billboard, Mike, Hannah, the whole team means a lot to me. They've spent a lot of time with me in San

04:08Francisco and see me through all my cockamamie ideas and my relentless spirit. But, you know,

04:16this is all too surreal. And I always say you just never lose sight of how it all started. And for me,

04:21it all started with the music, sleeping on the floor in the studio. So, you know, have vision,

04:27have heart, and have a blessed evening. Thank you.

04:43.

04:45.

04:55.

Ghazi Shami Accepts the Clive Davis Visionary Award From Olamide | SXSW London 2025

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