YouTube executive Tuma Basa, director of Black music and culture, announced his departure from the company on April 2 after eight years. In an Instagram post, Basa expressed gratitude to YouTube's music team, leadership, artists and others who supported his tenure. He described the move as a leap of faith into his next chapter.
Tuma Basa shared the news in an Instagram post on Thursday, April 2. “After eight great years at YouTube, I’m taking a leap of faith and stepping into my next chapter,” he wrote. Basa thanked the Music Team at YouTube, leadership, artists, managers, labels, producers, city specialists, uploaders, YouTube Lovers and even Gen AI haters, using phrases in multiple languages including Murakoze Cyane, Asante Sana and Merci Beaucoup. Billboard reached out to YouTube for comment on his departure but received no immediate response. Basa joined YouTube in 2018 as director of urban music and later became known for director of Black music and culture. During his time there, he spotlighted African artists such as Nigerian star Burna Boy and helped fuel their growth in the U.S. Born in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, to a Rwandan family, Basa spent his childhood in Iowa after his father pursued graduate studies at the University of Iowa. He relocated to Zimbabwe as a teenager. Earlier in his career, Basa aspired to a rap career under the name B.2ma B. before moving into music programming roles at BET, MTV and REVOLT. In 2015, he joined Spotify as global programming head of hip-hop, where he curated the popular Rap Caviar playlist.