Road trips with his family made hotels feel like a second home for Amani Roberts, chief musical curator at The Amani Experience.
“We would drive everywhere, and staying in hotels was so cool to me,” Roberts said. “So, I went to school for hospitality management at Howard University, with a concentration in finance, and that’s when I started to work and get into hotels. That was the beginning.”
The beginning of his hospitality story, at least, but Roberts’ book of life has many chapters. Some, like his dream of becoming a chef, started when he was little and are only a few pages long.
“I realized I was probably a little too selfish to be cooking for people all the time, non-stop,” Roberts laughed.
Other chapters, focusing on things like the role music plays in Roberts’ life, started at the same time but continue to write themselves to this day. In fact, music is the longest chapter in Roberts’ book of life so far.
“Music came first,” Roberts said. “It started in second or third grade. I learned how to play the recorder first, then the flute, and I quickly switched to the saxophone. Then I discovered mixtapes, making my own tapes and recording music. That was definitely my first passion.”
When Roberts started his professional career, there was no overlap between his stories in hospitality and music, but over time, he managed to carve out a place for himself in the meetings and events industry, a place only he and his many hats can fill.
Roberts—a music-loving DJ, USA Today bestselling author, professional speaker, podcaster, professor, 2024 Meetings Today Trendsetter and more—is one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable, and his story proves there’s a place for every passion in meetings and events. Here’s how it goes.
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Sales Calls to Soundchecks
As a college student, Roberts worked as a front desk supervisor and took on a corporate internship with Marriott International during his senior year. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and hospitality management, he found himself in Atlanta, where he continued to work for Marriott during the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Like many starting their hospitality careers in hotels, Roberts moved around often, relocating to different cities to work at different properties.
“That’s how I progressed,” he said, and he eventually found himself working as a sales manager for the company while learning how to DJ on the side.
“Then I made a decision, because my job with Marriott got to be more about spreadsheets and meetings, and I don’t like that,” Roberts said. “I like working with people. So, I decided to pursue DJing full time.”
Roberts became a certified scratch DJ in turntablism through the Scratch DJ Academy in Los Angeles’ DJ Certification Program, “the most comprehensive method for developing world-class DJ skills.” By the end of the program, he was performance-ready, with knowledge of everything from DJ history and culture to the ins and outs of equipment, performance practicums and troubleshooting in live scenarios.
Was it a risky decision to make? Yes, but his network was ready to support him in his next chapter.
“I had a close friend of mine, Mariles Krok, who’s now the chief convention sales and services officer for Visit Sacramento, tell me I should join MPI to advertise and grow my business as a DJ,” Roberts said. “She was right. That was the decision that changed my life.”
Roberts founded The Amani Experience, a luxury music entertainment brand that specializes in corporate events, video DJing, experiential events and more, in 2008. His business has provided music for events nearby in places like Palm Springs, Malibu and Santa Barbara and as far away as Cuiaba, Brazil.
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Meeting Professional to Professor
After becoming a fulltime DJ, Roberts joined the MPI Southern California chapter and immediately started volunteering, calling sponsors to make sure they were receiving what they were promised and networking with other chapter members while doing so.
“Then they asked me how I felt about joining the board and I thought, ‘I could do that,’” Roberts said. “So, I started managing social media for the chapter, and eventually, long story short, that progressed to me becoming president of the chapter—the first African American president in 45 years of the chapter—all while DJing.”
He won MPI Southern California Chapter Leader of the Year for 2017/2018. When he served as vice president of membership for MPI SoCal, Roberts was tasked with recruiting more college members to the chapter. He visited area schools such as California State Polytechnic University Pomona; California State University, Fullerton; California State University, Northridge; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and The International School of Hospitality (TISOH).
“I helped Fullerton with one of their events, and over the summer [of 2018]—I’ll never forget, I was volunteering at a DJ camp for kids. It was early in the morning, the only time I had any peace because the kids were still asleep,” Roberts laughed. “I was outside my cabin and I was checking my email because I was able to catch a Wi-Fi signal.”
In his inbox was an email from California State University, Fullerton.
“They said they had an open teaching position. It was two classes a week. Would I be interested?” Roberts recalled. “At the time, I was like, ‘I could use some more revenue.’ So, I did the interview, did the background check and got to be a teacher.
“Did I ever imagine myself teaching? No. Never, because I grew up the son of a college professor and I wanted nothing to do with it. I wanted to be as far away from it as possible,” Roberts said. “But somehow, someway, I ended up being a teacher. It was completely unexpected, but when opportunity presents itself, I’ve learned in life if you say, ‘Yes, and,’ like they do in improv— it’ll all work out.”
Roberts has been an adjunct professor at California State University, Fullerton School of Business & Economics ever since and was named California State University, Fullerton School of Business & Economics Part-Time Faculty of the Year in 2022 and 2024. He also serves as the director of the Center for Entertainment and Hospitality Management, in which he created a music business class from scratch that highlights touring, royalties, marketing, copyright, music analytics and more.
“It took three years for us to get the class approved,” Roberts said. “This is where we’re at now, spring semester 2025. It will be my fourth cohort, the fourth semester I’ve taught this class, and I love it. It’s my favorite class so far.”
On the rare occasion his class meets virtually, Roberts will treat them with a surprise DJ session at the start to get his students in the grove.
He also teaches seniors from across all majors a strategic business seminar in which he incorporates hospitality entertainment into the class, talking about companies like Marriott, Uber and Live Nation and incorporating elements such as improv games to help his students develop better public speaking skills.
“I bring the meetings industry into the class so students can see that they don’t have to work for a boring accounting firm if they don’t want to—no offense,” Roberts laughed. “There are some cool options out there.”
Roberts dedicates one day of class at the end of the semester to what he calls “The Artist Way Day,” talking students through a handful of activities around mindset, career goals and life in general.
“For a whole two hours, I remind them to not forget the things they loved to do as a kid as they continue to progress as a professional,” Roberts said. “That’s what will help you stay creative and help you stay happy.”
It’s the secret behind his own success.
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Speeches and Podcasts and Books, Oh My!
Between music, hospitality and education, Roberts’ story already spans more genres than most. To make it even more unique, though, he shares it on every stage he can.
Roberts first found himself behind a microphone in 2017 when he created The Amani Experience Podcast, episodes of which he continued to release until early 2021.
In April 2023, he launched Adventures in Business with co-host Mandi Graziano, vice president of global accounts at HPN Global. The live weekly podcast “takes you on an exhilarating journey through the world of entrepreneurship and leadership.” The pair speaks with leaders from a variety of industries live on LinkedIn to talk about the stumbles and successes in their business adventures.
“I learn something from Amani every time we interact. Being around him is an instant level-up,” Graziano said. “Whether it’s through the intricate research he does on guests for Adventures in Business and the thought-provoking questions he asks, his intentional decision making when selecting speakers for the MPI education conference committee we sit on or just his open-mindedness and curiosity, people are better humans when they’re in his sphere.”
In 2019, Roberts also added “author” to his hat collection with the publication of his first book, DJ’s Mean Business, in which he teaches readers how “one night behind the turntables can spin your company’s success” based on lessons he’s learned as a professional DJ.
“I wanted to further establish myself as a thought leader in the space, and I do that [in the book] by walking people through how to grow their business or their career as a DJ, or as a meeting professional through the lens of a DJ going from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and giving a unique perspective,” Roberts said.
Roberts started his professional speaking career in 2019, too, specializing in creativity, music and live podcasting. He has addressed thousands of hospitality and music professionals at programs with MPI, numerous California State Universities, 7/11, TISOH and more and using a combination of music and nostalgia “to reconnect them to their most creative selves.”
“He sets an example of how to pursue your passion and carve out a professional niche,” Graziano said. “And he lifts up everyone around him with joy and kindness.”
Roberts wants to inspire people to learn about the dozens of different careers available to them, and to teach them that “writing a book can change your life.” He wants to show people how to always live musically, and that “even if you didn’t grow up with music, you’re never too old to start to explore and learn something beautiful.”
His ultimate goal, though, is to bring music to the forefront of meetings and events “so that it’s not an option, it’s a requirement,” Roberts said. “Every event needs a person there that’s curating the musical experience, and it may seem like a short-sighted goal, but I think we have a long way to go.
“People can take music for granted,” he added, but Roberts and his many hats are on a mission to make meetings a musical experience for everyone.
Amani’s Latest Adventure
Amani Roberts released his second book, The Quiet Storm, February 18.
The “historical and cultural analysis of the power, passion and pain of R&B groups” starts with a comprehensive review of the history of R&B groups through each decade starting with the 1950s and then discusses “how an imperfect storm involving the full emergence of hip-hop, an untimely music recession, the rapid growth of technology combined with the digital divide, the growth of EDM music and the decline of African American media has virtually eliminated six decades of music from the Billboard charts,” according to Roberts’ website.
“This was my thesis in grad school at Berklee College of Music,” Roberts said. “My thesis asked, ‘Why are there no longer any Black R&B groups in existence? Why do they disappear?’
“Doing more research after the thesis was complete, I quickly realized that about 99% of all R&B groups are African American anyways, and then my focus shifted to the disappearance of the whole genre,” he continued. “I went to work doing more research, had some of my students help with research, and this book, four and a half years later, is a labor of love.”
Roberts wanted to share not only the history of R&B groups, but also how they were resilient, persistent, innovative and creative—“and those are all things we can use in the hospitality, meetings and events industry,” Roberts said.
“If you’re in the events industry, you need to use music somewhere in your program. It’s just a necessity,” he said. “But if you want to look at being innovative in a different way, you can learn from many of the groups in the book.”
One story Roberts shares about the group Earth, Wind & Fire teaches meeting and event professionals that they “must always be creative and figure out different ways to bring your live events to life,” he said. Another story about a group called Roger & Zapp highlights the benefits of taking risks, and a third story about Kool & The Gang shows the importance of collaborating with others.
“In our industry, we’ll run into different failures. We won’t succeed. We’ll have a rough event, or maybe if you’re a professional speaker, you apply and don’t get selected. There are all sorts of things,” Roberts said. “One of the most famous R&B groups of all time is Destiny’s Child, and they failed at first. They were on Star Search and they lost to this group called Skeleton Crew.
“Have you heard of Skeleton Crew? Probably not. But have you heard of Destiny’s Child?” Roberts asked with a grin. “There are different stories like that in the book that meeting professionals can be really inspired by.”
To learn more or order a copy of The Quiet Storm, visit amaniexprience.com/quietstorm.
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