Joey Akan is the Entertainment Editor of News Central TV, and the West African Arts & Culture Commissioning Editor for The Conversations Africa, and the Founder/CEO of Afrobeats Intelligence. 
 
He’s a multi-award-winning journalist, writer, A&R and Media Consultant. He is also a writer, broadcaster, host, public relations consultant and commentator on current affairs, including African music, Urban pop culture, politics, sport, race, gender and sexuality.  

Joey spent over 5 years as the Music Editor of Pulse Nigeria, where he led a team of creatives at the Pulse Entertainment Desk. 
 
He has written on a variety of topics for the music industry, including investigations into the music distribution business, Africa, its sounds, and the culture of music. Through several years in the Entertainment industry and pop culture experience, Joey has acted as a consultant for major record labels, actors, musicians and creatives with carefully tailored advice on their A&R, communications and promotion strategies.  
 
His work has appeared in The New York Times, The FADER, Quartz, The New Yorker, Mail & Guardian, DJBooth, Pulse, Guardian, OkayAfrica, Highsnobiety, CNN and many more publications. He has also covered some of the continent’s biggest events, including the MTV Africa Music Awards, Red Bull Culture Clash, Headies, African Music Awards, and many others. 
 
Keen to share his knowledge of the industry, he regularly participates in speaking engagements across the country, where he delivers masterclasses on Entertainment Journalism and Creative Pursuits. Joey has also spoken at TEDx and featured as a judge and mentor under CreetiQ Africa’s “The Critic Challenge,” where he helped discover emerging culture critics and journalists. 
 
He has earned several nominations for his work including OYA, MAYA Awards, and is a two-time winner of the Nigerian Writers Awards (2015, 2016) and the winner of the Scream Awards for the Entertainment Journalist of the Year.