African Americans in Audio

Moderator:
Leslie Gaston-Bird, Mix Messiah Productions - Brighton, UK; Audio Engineering Society - London, UK
Panelists:
Prince Charles Alexander, Berklee College of Music - Boston, MA, USA
Abhita Austin, Audio Engineer-Producer and Founder of The Creator’s Suite
James Henry, recording engineer/producer and audio educator
Ebonie Smith, Atlantic Records/Hamilton Cast Album
Paul "Willie Green" Womack, Willie Green Music - Brooklyn, NY, USA
Bobby Wright, Hampton University

African Americans have contributed to the popular music recording industry in a number of ways, and although their achievements are visible, their representation at technical conferences and on the exhibit floor is less so. Join our panel of renowned engineers, performers, and educators for a discussion on how African Americans have been blazing trails behind the scenes in the recording industry and how we can best engage and welcome them to access the social and scholarly networks that have benefited us. Topics include a technological pedagogy for hip-hop education and dispelling the stereotype that African-American engineers are only able to work in “Black Music” genres.

Chaired by AES Governor-at-Large Leslie Gaston-Bird, the first African American to sit on the AES Board of Governors, panelists include: James Henry, three time Grammy nominated recording engineer/producer and audio educator; Paul Willie Green Womack, Producer/Engineer and Chair of the Hip-Hop and R&B track of the AES Convention Committee; Prince Charles Alexander, Grammy winning Music Producer/Engineer/Recording Artist and Professor of Music Production and Engineering for Berklee College of Music and Berklee Online; Bobby Wright, Assistant Professor (music, audio engineering) at Hampton University; Abhita Austin, Audio Engineer-Producer and Founder of The Creator’s Suite; and Ebonie Smith, Grammy winning engineer, producer, and singer / songwriter.