Meet the Team

About Amp U

Amp U is the brainchild of childhood friends, Jake McKim and Neeki Bey. After attending high school at Houston’s renowned High School for the Performing Arts, the music industry veterans both went their separate ways with Jake attending the University of Houston and Neeki, Morehouse College. Jake took the path of music business which led him to Mathew Knowles, where he worked to help shape the careers of Beyonce, Solange, Maddie & Tae, and Chloe & Halle to name a few.

Neeki's roots were in making music. This led him to perform and music direct on stages all over the world, while working with artists as diverse as Celine Dion to Maddie and Tae to countertenor John Holiday. In 2015, Neeki and Jake decided to reunite their efforts with the express purpose of helping to advance the careers of developing artists. Amp U was born as an A&R-based company focused on catering to the biggest challenges that many artists face - great songwriting and great production.

Leveraging their 20 plus years of professional experience and relationships, Jake and Neeki, along with their team, provide Amp U artists next level access to the Music Industry. Connections with songwriters, producers and top industry influencers, allow Amp U to help launch emerging artists from the ground up. As seen with artists like Maddie and Tae, the #1 top selling country female group since the Dixie Chicks, artists have found success in their careers as independent artists or deals with publishing and record labels.

By working with each artist individually and bringing together important artist allies including; parents, vocal coaches, songwriters and producers, Amp U’s mission of creating success for the artist becomes a supportive team effort.

Jake McKim

Co-Founder/CEO

Since entering the music industry in 2002, Jake has steadily worked in artist development with many of today's biggest recording artists and songwriters including Beyonce, Destiny's Child, Janet Jackson, Solange, Maddie & Tae, Chloe & Halle, Ray J, and hit songwriters Shane Stevens (Selena Gomez, Carrie Underwood), Michelle Buzz (Katy Perry, Steve Aoki), and Cam Wallace (Chris Brown, Beyonce) among others.

Most recently, Jake launched the nonprofit Amp Ur Room in 2016. AUR brings music and entertainment experiences to the bedsides of cancer patients at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Tx., Dell Children's in Austin, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Recent visits have included Fifth Harmony, Pentatonix, Luke Bryan, Hailee Steinfeld, Chloe & Halle, and Maddie & Tae.

Neeki Bey

Silent Assassin

Neeki Bey has had the privilege of being a part of some amazing musical stories: as a choirboy in the Houston Boychoir, attending the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, singing in the Glee Club at Morehouse College, studying voice in Vienna and sacred music at Southern Methodist University, along with working with many amazing talents like John Holiday, #1 Female Country Duo Maddie & Tae, Sister C, Music World Music (Home of Destiny’s Child) and Sophie Beem. Bey is co-founder of Amp U Music which specializes in A&R and artist management and he owns a Dallas-based production company called Ikeen Music. When not making music or building shows, Neeki enjoys traveling and gardening.

Brenna Moses

Ms. Positivity

Brenna Moses handles logistics for Amp U including scheduling with clients and coaches and finances with a smile. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Brenna, the youngest of five, grew up with a passion for sports, playing Junior Olympic Volleyball for 6 years and Division I college volleyball at the University of Dayton. She’s transitioned her passion for sports into entertainment having in the past served as personal assistant and brand manager for singer Yasmeen, as well as Operations Director and Lead Producer for runway shows for Phoenix Fashion Week, the leading fashion event in the Southwest.

Olivia Norman

The Aggie

Olivia Norman helps to coordinate with our vocal coaches, songwriters/producers and industry contacts. She grew up in Austin, Texas – the live music capital of the world - and started going to concerts and music festivals at a very young age! She attended Texas A&M University where she majored in Finance, but always kept herself connected to the music industry. With multiple summers interning for an artist management company in Austin under her belt, she's assisted in management and tour marketing. Olivia also acted as a co-editor for a Texas Country Music blog, and served as the Large Scale Events Executive for the programming board at Texas A&M where she brought concerts to campus with artists ranging from Judah & The Lion to Foreigner.

Julianna Banks

Julianna Banks is a graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in
songwriting, and a current master’s candidate, studying music production,
technology, and innovation at Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain. She is
originally from Houston, Texas, and has had a lifelong love of music, from writing her first song at three years old, to beginning classical piano lessons at five, to teaching herself guitar at twelve. This passion has led her to a wide range of interests across the music industry, and a desire to be involved in all of the different aspects: as an artist and songwriter, producer and engineer, as well as on the business side of things.