Recording Academy Board Of Trustees Elects Tammy Hurt as Chair, Replacing Harvey Mason, jr.

The Recording Academy has elected Tammy Hurt as its new Chair of the Board of Trustees, replacing Harvey Mason jr., who steps down from the post after being appointed permanent chairman/CEO of the organization, a role he had been serving on an interim basis since January of 2020. The elections were made during organization’s annual spring Board of Trustees meeting in May and also saw Rico Love elected as Vice Chair, Om’Mas Keith as Secretary/Treasurer and Christine Albert continuing her role as Chair Emeritus. All officer appointments are effective immediately.

“I’m in awe of the amazingly talented group that’s been elected to lead this new era of the Academy and really excited at the possibilities as I start this journey with Tammy, Rico, Om’Mas, and Christine,” said Mason. “I know this group is going to do great work as we continue to transform the Academy and support the music community.”

Hurt, who had served as vice chairman for the past two years, takes on a powerful role at the Academy, as the head of the board that determines the organization’s policies, including for the Grammy Awards. Bios of all four officers, written by the Recording Academy, appear below.

Tammy Hurt

As an independent music industry veteran, Tammy Hurt has been a driving force in Atlanta’s music scene for decades. An Emmy-nominated producer for her work with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Hurt is the managing partner of Placement Music, a boutique entertainment firm specializing in custom music, scoring and licensing. FOX Sports commissioned the company for two consecutive Super Bowl broadcasts to create an original full orchestral score. Additional credits include Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV, HBO, BET, Sony, Lifetime, Hallmark, NFL, NASCAR, “True Blood,” “Dexter,” “Drop Dead Diva,” Mean Girls 2, and multiple custom placements in the indie film HITS, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.

Hurt’s most recent project, Sonic Rebel – We Made This With Our Hands, is a five-song instrumental EP that is a mashup of electronic, rock, glitch, dub trap, and hip-hop elements, releasing summer 2021. Recorded at Big Trouble Recording in L5P Atlanta, the project features Dan Gleason and Ben Homola from Grouplove, engineer TJ Elias, multi-instrumentalist Kevin Spencer on guitar, and Hurt on the drums.

A co-founder of the nonprofit organization Georgia Music Partners, Hurt spearheaded the campaign to create and pass Georgia’s first standalone music tax incentive, the Georgia Music Investment Act. She is a recipient of Catalyst Magazine’s Top 25 Entrepreneurs and Ones to Watch Award and is an openly LGBTQ+ officer of the Recording Academy.

Rico Love

Rico Love is a three-time SESAC Songwriter of the Year. He has written and produced hit records for artists such as David Guetta/Usher (“Without You”), Romeo Santos (“Promise”), Usher (“There Goes My Baby”), Nelly (“Just a Dream”), Trey Songz (“Heart Attack”), and Kelly Rowland (“Motivation”), and has contributed to GRAMMY® Award-winning works such as Beyoncé’s 2009 Best Contemporary R&B Album I Am… Sasha Fierce, Usher’s 2010 Best Contemporary R&B Album Raymond v. Raymond and Usher’s 2010 Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “There Goes My Baby.” Love continues to enjoy success as a songwriter and producer but is equally dedicated and passionate about his new music conference venture (We Love Music Conference) which is designed to educate, inspire and cultivate up-and-coming talent. His label, D1MG, has partnerships at Epic, Hitco and Sony.

Om’Mas Keith

GRAMMY Award-winning/multi-platinum-selling producer, engineer, composer, musician, performer, executive, and TV personality, Om’Mas Keith, is a Hollis, Queens, New York native with a rich musical pedigree. He is one of the founding members of the avant-garde hip-hop/jazz trio Sa-Ra Creative Partners, and has worked as a producer and songwriter with such artists as Erykah Badu, Jay-Z, Kanye West, John Legend, Anderson .Paak, Vic Mensa, Kali Uchis, and Frank Ocean.

Om’Mas began his service to the Recording Academy as a Los Angeles Chapter Board Advisor in 2015-2016. He’s since served as a Los Angeles Chapter Board Governor & National Trustee. As Awards and Nominations Co-Chair he oversaw historic positive and cultural change to the awards process. His participation as a team leader during the GRAMMYs on the Hill® campaign for the passage of the Music Modernization Act was “a life changing experience.” As a founding member of the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective, he is passionate about its goals of increasing diversity and advocating for racial justice.

Christine Albert

Albert is an independent recording artist and founder/CEO of Swan Songs, an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit that fulfills musical last wishes. She has released 12 independent albums as a solo artist and as part of the folk/Americana duo Albert and Gage. Albert and her husband and musical partner Chris Gage also own and operate MoonHouse Studio and MoonHouse Records in Austin. She is known for her “Texafrance” series of French/English recordings that combine her European heritage and Texas musical roots.

She has appeared on “Austin City Limits,” was honored as Female Vocalist of the Year by the Kerrville Folk Festival Music Awards, and was awarded Superstar of Austin Music by the Austin Chamber of Commerce for her community service work. She was inducted into the Texas Songwriter’s Association Texas Music Legends Hall of Fame in 2018.

In addition to her role as Chair Emeritus for the Recording Academy, she also currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Latin Recording Academy and the Board of Directors of MusiCares.

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