The A3C Festival & Conference is known for bringing out the biggest names in the music industry. Artists, producers, DJs, and executives will be sharing treasure chests of information and knowledge, but don’t forget about the good folks at A3C. The people who work year round to make sure the festival is bigger and better every October have some gems to share too.

Yusuf Muhammad

Yusuf Muhammad currently serves as the program manager A3C’s music and film festival. He knows a how to put together a high level event for all types of audiences. He has much experience doing so. During his time in college, Yusef produced Veteran Freshman, a concert series for local talent spanning across all genres. Over the years Yusuf has developed partnerships with companies such as Red Bull, AEG, and Heineken while participating in the production of events like Sound Select and the Green Room series. Aside from getting prepared for A3C, he also is works with Jam Nation, curating shows in Las Vegas. Yusuf practices the motto of “each one teach one.” When he’s not behind the scenes managing and producing shows he’s teaching others how to do what he does. Yusuf enjoys reaching out to the youth and teaching them how to build their own brands and put on their own shows. He’ll be sharing his experiences and knowledge at the Booking and Managing Your Own Tour... on a Budget discussion.

Mike Walbert

Mike Walbert is the head honcho of the A3C Festival & Conference. As the Executive Director, Mike makes sure that all aspects of the festival and conference are on point, but he specifically focuses on Business Development, Sponsorship, Branding and Marketing. An alum of USC Marshall School of Business, Mike applied his business education to the music industry by co-founding a music production and branding company, SMKA in 2008. A year later he joined the A3C staff in 2009 as the Artist Director. He’s been an integral part in the progression and expansion of the A3C Festival & Conference. Keep a look out for the boss man as he’ll be floating around the festival making sure your experience is a great one.  

Prima Sanders

With the recent health scares of Hip-Hop artists like Lil Wayne and Rick Ross and other artist like Waka Flocka going vegan, Hip-Hop is becoming a little more health conscious. Health will be a hot topic at this years A3C Festival & Conference. A3C’s own Box Office Director, Prima Sanders will be discussing the sudden shift to be fit and healthy, and how health and Hip-Hop affects you. As an avid Hip-Hop fan, dialysis patient, and a national ambassador for the National Kidney Foundation, Sanders can share her experiences of how Hip-Hop has affected her health. She is also the co-founder of #KidneyforPrima, a non-profit organization that helps to empower those affected by kidney disease and provide education to help prevent end stage renal disease. When Sander’s is not working on A3C related things or helping those with kidney disease, she is managing celebrity DJ turned artist, DJ Outta Space.  Managing health in a Hip-Hop environment is something Prima Sanders knows about.  

Lauren Martinez

The A3C Festival & Conference covers every aspect of the music industry with specific focus on Hip-Hop. Music, art, technology, and even journalism is covered. Journalists and bloggers come to A3C to cover the many events and to get that exclusive interview with at least one of the many rap stars that tend to show up. The A3C blog, is a one stop shop to find out what is going to happen and who is going to be at the A3C Festival & Conference. Lauren Martinez started as a stage manager and quickly became the Editor-in-Chief of the A3C blog. She is a full time journalist and during her career thus far, she has interviewed a long list of big names such as Spike Lee, Mos Def, Harry Belafonte, Common, Kevin Gates, Chris Tucker and a lot more. Her insight on pop culture and expertise with social media has allowed her to cover the latest celebrity news for publications like Rolling Out magazine, The Shade Room, Sheen Magazine, The Huffington Post, Bossip, Hotnewhiphop.com, and more. With her out-of-the-box approach Lauren finds an opportunity to influence people’s way of thinking with her writing.If you get a chance, catch Lauren at this years A3C Festival sharing her knowledge, and her predictions of where Hip-Hop journalism is going.

Ryan Haslam

Many people are aware of the musical showcases and performances that A3C Festival, but many people who have never been are not fully aware of the panel discussions and seminars that are available. There is a lot of information and insight into different industries. Ryan Haslam is the reason why the A3C Festival & Conference is one of the best educational experiences as well as a musical one. As the Conference Director of the A3C Festival & Conference, works with various aspects of the Conference, including the Pro-Audio Programming, Conference Programing, and Marketing. Ryan has only been with A3C for one year so far. Before joining the festival staff, Ryan spent time working with a variety of companies in apparel, including, LRG, Play Cloths, UrbanEars, and Karmaloop. He also manages music talent, such as Bryan Michael-Cox. You can meet with Ryan Haslam at the International Meetup.