Mumu Fresh (also known as Maimouna Youssef) is a Grammy-nominated, Indigenous Music award-winning, Musical Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, elected governor of The DC Chapter of The Recording Academy and an Ambassador of The Black Music Collective. Mumu Fresh has toured internationally as a critically acclaimed Afro-Indigenous singer, Emcee, songwriter, activist, workshop facilitator and audio engineer who’s been called a “quadruple threat” by The Roots’ Black Thought and “groundbreaking” by Oscar-winning artist, Common.

Maimouna has performed to sold-out audiences, in renowned venues around the world, electrifying stages alongside countless musical giants including Common, The Roots, Sting, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Billy Ray Cyrus, MC Lyte, Brandy, Femi Kuti, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Raphael Saadiq, Nas, Burna Boy, the National Symphony Orchestra and Dave Chappelle. Her soul-stirring performances stole the show at the Black Girls Rock Awards 2019 and Black Music Honors 2019 and 2021. She’s rocked stages at acclaimed music festivals including the Essence Music Festival, Global Citizen, and SXSW.

Maimouna has served as a mentor for several GRAMMY U affiliated young aspiring artists. In 2020, she founded her own online music education platform called “Muniversity Studies” to teach aspiring artists how to reimagine the music business and thrive independently with purpose. Mumu Fresh is quickly becoming known as an independent music mogul for her generation. Maimouna is committed to ‘Art Activism’ and has performed within the US prison system, Congressional Black Caucus, I.M.A.N. Central in Chicago, The W. K. Kellogg Foundation and more, bringing awareness to important social issues. Mumu Fresh is a global citizen, musical healer, cultural philanthropist and community pillar.

Learn more about Mumu Fresh

About Cyrille Taillandier

After graduating in 1996 from the Ecole Superieure de Realisation Audiovisuelle (Paris, France), Cyrille Taillandier started his professional career as an assistant recording engineer. From 1996 to 1999 he worked at a number of prominent French studios including Davout, Soft-ADS, Miraval, and Le Manoir. As a second engineer for the recording of the multi-platinum and award winning Essence Ordinaire by the renowned French band Zebda, Cyrille worked side by side with the album’s producer Nicholas Sansano and traveled to New York for the completion of the record. He fell in love with the city and moved to Brooklyn in 1999. For the next two years Cyrille worked as a Pro Tools engineer and mix assistant with Tony Maserati on multi-platinum albums including Alicia Keys’ Songs in A Minor, P. Diddy’s Forever, R. Kelly’s TP-2.com, and Jennifer Lopez’s On the 6. Cyrille has been an independent audio and Pro Tools engineer since 2001. In 2006 he began teaching at the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. Cyrille joined AWCoMAD’s Music Industry Program in 2007. His recent credits include Lenny Kravitz’s Black and White America and Angelique Kidjo’s OYO.

About James McKinney

James McKinney is an experienced creative professional having spent nearly 20 years as an executive manager with various media and music companies. He is also an accomplished engineer, producer, songwriter, arranger, film-scorer, keyboardist, vocalist, musical director, educator and philanthropist. In James’ experience as producer and music director he has worked with Doug E. Fresh, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Faith Evans, Chuck Brown, Wale, Rachell Ferrell, Kenny Lattimore, Raheem Devaughn, Bankie Banx, Kenny Burrell, James Moody, and more. His performance, co-writing and co-production also contributed to two Grammy Nominated Performances in the Urban Alternative category.

In addition to these accomplishments, James has scored for film, television and web and most recently contributed to the score and sound-track for the award winning films My Last Day Without You and S.O.U.L Of A Black Woman. His scoring credits also include commercial scores for Discovery Channel and Johnson & Johnson to name a few.

McKinney currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Eusonia Records, and also owns and operates Infinite Icon Enterprises, LLC, his production company. James also uses his skills to enhance the human condition through philanthropy and education globally. In fact, within the last few years, James has performed concerts, educational workshops in music and music business in seven countries, including China, Taiwan, England, Papua New Guinea, Anguilla and Haiti. His work in Anguilla also garnered a 2021 Tec Award Nomination for Studio Design for AMA Recording, the studio he co-designed and built in The AMA Center, a Caribbean hub for technology and innovation which he also happens to co-manage. He recently completed several terms as a National Co-Chair of the Producers and Engineers Wing of the Grammys; and as a Trustee of the Board of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, (also known as The Grammy Association).

James counts his musical talents, business savvy and experience as a blessing and looks forward to continuing to use these gifts for the betterment and empowerment of people needing and seeking positive inspiration around the world, as he continues to share his and other’s music globally through live performance and recorded music.