Alex Boateng – Co-President 0207 Def Jam

Alex Boateng is Co-President of 0207 Def Jam.

Esteemed British music executives Alex and Alec Boateng established 0207 Def Jam, a frontline music label in November 2020. Its name inspired by the inner London telephone code, their founding roster includes stars such as Stormzy, Potter Payper, Bru-C, tendai and Debbie.

Alec and Alex grew up in East London, DJ’ing and producing mixtapes at a time where Grime was emerging from the city’s underground raves and pirate radio stations. Alex balanced a marketing degree with shifts at BBC 1Xtra and running his own marketing and promotions company. After graduation and consulting roles with Atlantic Records, Polydor and AATW, he landed a digital role at Island – and in the years to follow, would go onto shape the next chapters of the historic label. 

By 2018 he was President of the labels Urban Division, and with a team that eventually grew to 11 members oversaw a roster that included Angel and Taio Cruz, The Weeknd and Drake. In the years that followed, the division took an instrumental role in shaping the current and sustained success of UK Rap. Alex says in his career he sought to “change the environment around urban and Black music in the system,” by “building a team of experts and people who cared a bit more than everyone else.” The spell at Island, which preceded his role at 0207, saw unprecedented success with the likes of Giggs, viral internet personality Michael Dapaah – as well as new age trailblazers M Huncho and Unknown T.

Meanwhile, Alec, former Head of A&R at Atlantic has tread a similar path. He remembers leading the curation of an award-winning mixtape in East London with Alex and his friends, before dropping out of university to cut his teeth in A&R. First, he worked with Ministry of Sound and then began operating his own co-owned label alongside the late industry veteran Richard Antwi. Together, they oversaw a plethora of success with many artists including Wretch 32.

In seven years at Atlantic, Alec played a pivotal hand in the commercial and cultural success of acts who have defined their era – the addictive tones of Jess Glynne, the revolutionary rise of Stormzy, as well as Burna Boy’s chartered ascent to global superstar. Having worked with both international artists and underground heroes through his storied career, Alec sees 0207 Def Jam as a label that can acutely benefit from the array and often unconventional experience the team will bring to the forefront.