Justin LaMotte is a creative entrepreneur with a passion for developing and supporting artists at the ground level. He is the Co-Founder & CEO of Black Wax – a modern record label and artist management company focused on protecting Black creatives, their art, and overall livelihood. Originally a recording studio and creative direction agency for the likes of H.E.R. Khalid, and Playboi Carti – Black Wax has grown into a full-service company that deeply cares about and nurtures the artists it works with. In addition, LaMotte is an advocate for financial literacy for artists and has built the company to offer fair and transparent deals in hopes that the industry follows suit. Their current roster includes R&B duo THEY, singer/songwriter PHABO, Def Jam Recordings’ Felix Ames, among other developing talents across genres such as Caribbean, Afrobeats and Global music.
Notably, LaMotte discovered and managed R&B superstar Ari Lennox during the formative years of her career. Together, they achieved great success, including signing to J. Cole’s Dreamville in 2016. LaMotte was known in the Baton Rouge and DC area for throwing shows and parties. This is where he met a majority of the artists he managed early on – including Ari, who caught on and came out to a show. The rest is history as LaMotte worked on all things related to A&R, touring, brand partnerships, and development for Lennox and learned the building blocks to a successful multi-faceted career. Since then, he has been a part of projects with billions of streams, 18 RIAA certifications, and partnerships with Adidas, Coca-Cola, Crown Royal, Virgin Voyage, Levis, among others.
