On The Couch With Amira Mahmoud!

The Curvealicious Chronicles recently had the opportunity to sit with rising young Entertainment Exec Amira Mahmoud…Amira epitomizes the phrase “Mover & Shaker”...enjoy!

Etoile

What is your name and what do you do?
Amira Mahmoud, I'm a Music Artist Manager and I'm also the Director of Artist Relations at ELW Productions, Inc.

When did your 'love affair' with music begin?
As far back as I can remember, my parents always tell me how when I was a baby and I would cry, they would put me in the stationary swing in front of the TV and put on Janet Jackson and I would immediately stop crying because I was mesmerized. I've always LOVED dancing, singing, and listening to music.

How did you break into the entertainment industry?
I actually fell into it by accident, I was filling out online forms to do a co-op program in college and clicked on multiple positions in my area of interest, and surprisingly I ended up getting a call from Verve Music Group at Universal. I had always wanted to be in the music industry, but thought it was so exclusive and you had to know someone to get in...apparently not.

What advice would you give other young people hoping to have a career on the business side of the entertainment industry?
Do as many internships as possible! Once you're an intern, ask a lot of questions and make yourself useful to the people around you. It's also very important to keep in touch with the people you worked for and worked with.

What has been your career high-light to date?
There have been many highlights, but working on Son of a Gun would have to be the highlight for me. I really learned a lot about another side of management, reality television, and dealing with many different people. It was an eye-opener for me seeing how people deal with one another, whether it be positively or negatively. I also built a lot of great relationships with the people I met.

What are your goals and aspirations?
I feel like the question should be what AREN'T my goals and aspirations because I have so many! I really want to build my brand and eventually become a household name. I'm interested in many different areas and want to be involved in everything! I really look up to women like Kimora Lee Simmons and Jennifer Lopez who "do it all" and have built great brands and names for themselves. They are successful and involved in many different ventures while still having families, and ultimately that's what I want.

What projects are you currently working on?
Musically, I'm currently working on projects for Alex Young and my artist, Dougie Cash. I'm also in the process of developing a website with a partner of mine that focuses on dating and relationships. In addition I'm working on a couple of other projects, you'll see...

How do you balance work & play?
I think it's very important to find balance and to know when to balance. I try to incorporate both as much as I can, if I'm at an event with friends I still make an effort to network and build relationships that can transpire into my work, while still having a good time. There may be times where there is just too much work to be done or you know you have something important coming up and when that happens, you need to learn when to skip the social scene.

What's on Amira's playlist?
Currently, the albums that I keep rotating are Adele, Rihanna, J Cole, Drake, and Dougie Cash's First Class Mixtape. I love all kinds of music, and especially like music I can sing and dance to.

What can we expect from Amira in 2012?
You can expect me to keep growing and building myself as a brand, I'm really looking forward to new business ventures that I'm working on and developing my and Ed Woods' artist, Dougie Cash. I can't reveal all of the moves I'm making, but stay tuned because it's definitely going to be interesting...