Chris Anokute is an A&R executive. While at Capitol Records he oversaw artists including Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...

, Joss Stone

Joss Stone

Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...

 and Varsity Fanclub

Varsity Fanclub

Varsity Fanclub is a boy band from Los Angeles, California. Varsity Fanclub currently consists of David Lei Brandt, Drew Ryan Scott, Jayk Purdy, and T.C. Carter....

. He is currently Senior Vice-President of A&R at Universal Motown.

Career

Anokute's entry point into the music industry came when, at the age of 17, he approached John Houston, father of Whitney

Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...

, and asked to be part of his management team. Houston hired Anokute as an apprentice.

Shortly started his own management company together with Stephen Chukumba, managing writers and producers in the New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 area. Acts they signed included J.U.S. and Alkatraz. At the same time he secured an internship in A&R administration at Def Jam Records, working under A&R executive Rob Mitchell. Once promoted to A&R assistant, he worked on projects including Sum 41

Sum 41

Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. The band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of members Deryck Whibley , Tom Thacker , Jason McCaslin and Steve Jocz .In 1999, the band signed an international record deal with Island Records...

, Ashanti, Foxy Brown and Jay Z's The Blueprint

The Blueprint

The Blueprint is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released September 11, 2001 on Roc-A-Fella Records in the United States. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2001 at Manhattan...

.

Anokute discovered the songwriter Alisha Brooks and introduced her to Vada Nobles

Vada Nobles

Vada Nobles is a record producer and songwriter. He provided production on Lauryn Hill's debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill . He co-wrote the Rihanna song "Pon de Replay" and co-wrote and co-produced two tracks on Hilary Duff's 2007 album, Dignity.-External links:...

. Nobles provided a selection of instrumentals to write to, and from one track Brooks created "Pon de Replay

Pon de Replay

"Pon de Replay" is a song recorded by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, from her debut studio album Music of the Sun . The song was made available to download via iTunes on August 26, 2005, released as the album's lead single. The song was written and produced by Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers and...

". Soon afterwards the song was recorded by the then unknown Rihanna

Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

 and helped land the 16-year-old a deal with Def Jam Universal. Three months later the song reached number 1 on the Billboard 200.

Anokute was hired by Jason Flom

Jason Flom

Jason Flom is an American music industry executive. He has served as the Chairman and CEO of music labels including Atlantic Records, Virgin Records, and the Capitol Music Group. In 1995, he founded Lava Records...

 as a junior A&R at Virgin/Capitol, where he became a vocal supporter of Flom signing Katy Perry and later went on to successfully A&R her second album Teenage Dream

Teenage Dream (Katy Perry album)

Teenage Dream is the third studio album by American recording artist Katy Perry. It was released on August 24, 2010, through Capitol Records. The album's inspiration came from dance, pop, and rock by 1980s artists, including ABBA and The Cardigans. Perry worked with several writers and producers on...

.