The former Googler and Meta product growth lead has officially been named a member of the Recording Academy’s 2025 New Member Class, joining a select cohort of nearly 3,600 music professionals shaping the future of the industry.

The Recording Academy, home of the GRAMMY Awards, is more than just a music institution, it’s a global community that influences policy, uplifts creatives, and defines excellence.

This year’s class marks a significant shift: 49% women, 56% people of colour, and 60% under 40. Kariuki checks all those boxes, and more.

A Tech Mind in the Music World

Melissa’s journey began with grassroots passion — organizing open mics and art shows during her university days. Today, she runs Whip Music, a cutting-edge platform using AI, automation, and data-driven strategies to help artists grow their fanbases and break into global markets.

Since its founding, Whip Music has powered over 200 campaigns across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and the U.S., supporting artists such as David Guetta, CKay, Ayra Starr, Fave, and The Cavemen.

The company offers emerging African artists access to powerful music promotion tools once reserved for major labels.

“This is a milestone in my music journey,” said Melissa Kariuki. “I never imagined that organizing campus open mics would lead me here, to building a music-tech company and now being invited to the Recording Academy. Some of life’s best gifts are found along the way. This is one of them.”

Championing African Voices, One Stream at a Time

In 2023, Whip Music became the first music-tech startup accepted into the Google for Startups Africa Accelerator and later forged a strategic partnership with Boomplay, Africa’s leading music streaming platform with over 100 million users.

Kariuki’s work is grounded in one core belief: Every African artist deserves to be heard. With over 100,000 new songs uploaded to Spotify daily, standing out is harder than ever. That’s where Whip steps in, breaking down barriers and building bridges between creators and global audiences.

From Africa to the Academy

Kariuki’s induction into the Recording Academy doesn’t just mark a personal achievement, it represents a broader shift toward inclusive global representation in the music industry.

As a tech founder with a passion for music and a deep commitment to African talent, she’s not just joining the conversation, she’s helping rewrite it.

As a member, she’ll contribute to the GRAMMY voting process and help shape initiatives around equity, innovation, and creator rights, reinforcing the message that African stories, talents, and tech are indispensable to the future of music.

“At Whip, we’re using technology to level the playing field,” Melissa Kariuki said. “Being part of the Recording Academy is an opportunity to elevate not just my voice, but the voices of thousands of African artists building something extraordinary.”

The GRAMMYs just got a little more African, and a lot more innovative.

Like previous editions, the Africa Day Concert which is in its third year will be hosted by superstar Idris Elba. 

The annual concert is a musical homage to Africa, showcasing the vibrant African music stars who are making headlines across the world. 

The concert seeks to bring Africans, the Diaspora, and people from across the world together to celebrate a continent that is home to more than 1.5 billion people and is spawning new ways of artistic expression. 

This year’s concert will feature artists from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, South Africa, and Congo who are set to perform. The concert will be streamed exclusively on YouTube at 19:00 CAT / 18:00 WAT on the 25th of May, 2022.

The Africa Day Concert promises show-stopping performances from talented African music stars. “YouTube as a platform has been a mainline for connecting African artists to people all around the world and the Africa Day Concert is an opportunity to reaffirm YouTube’s support for African artists as they showcase the vibrant sounds and culture that makes Africa truly unique”, says Alex Okosi, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, YouTube EMEA. 

The highly anticipated concert will showcase musical performances that will be streamed to a global audience. From Nigeria, talented music artists, D’banj, Davido, CKay, Yemi Alade, Reekado Banks and Mayorkun will be performing at the virtual concert this year. Also performing from the West African region is popular Sierra Leonean recording and performing artist, Drizilik.

Also set to perform at the Concert are singer-songwriter and poet, Busiswa Gqulu, and singer and dancer, Kamo Mpela; both from South Africa. They are known for hit songs, SBWL and Nkulunkulu respectively.

Tanzanian singer, songwriter and WCB (Wasafi Classic Baby) artist, Zuchu will be performing her hit songs at the concert while Congolese singer-songwriter, Innoss’B, the Naomi Campbell crooner rounds out the lineup of artists performing this year at the Concert.

Also, the Concert is aimed at commemorating the foundation of the Organisation of Africa Unity on the 25th of May 1963 by using music as a platform to showcase African culture. 

The artists confirmed to perform at the Africa Day Concert 2022 are (in alphabetical order):

1. Busiswa (South Africa)

2. Ckay (Nigeria)

3. Davido (Nigeria)

4. Dbanj (Nigeria)

5. Drizilik (Sierra Leone)

6. Innoss’B (Congo)

7. Kamo Mpela (South Africa) 

8. Mayorkun (Nigeria) 

9. Reekado Banks (Nigeria)

10. Yemi Alade (Nigeria)

11. Zuchu (Tanzania)

To join the live stream of the Africa Day Concert, please visit the site.