Mansa Wakili, Raytown South High School, Class of 2006
After graduating from Raytown South High in 2006, Mansa moved to Los Angeles to continue to follow his dream of making a career with his music.
After years of hard work, dedication to his craft, and making connections in the music industry, he was nominated for a Grammy for his musical work for the Fox network hit television show, Empire. His body of work is expansive and remarkable. He has written, produced and/or created music for many movies and television shows, including Spiderman Homecoming, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, and Club Mickey Mouse, to name a few.
Under the stage name chief waKiL, he won the Best Original Song award from the International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA) for his work on The Lego Batman Movie. He won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor for his work on the TV show Giants.
Mansa’s original goal was to make it as a recording artist, and he still writes and produces his own music; however, also choosing to write and produce music for movies and television, has allowed him to work with some of the best writers and producers in the business. He now has his own production company called Kil Society. Genres of music covered by his production company include Electronic Dance Music (EDM), Hip-Hop, Pop, Pop-Rock, R&B, Soul, and Soundtrack music.
His work, some of which was outside his comfort zone, has allowed him to become a well-rounded musician and has taught him the value of collaborating with others. Mansa enjoys sharing with the next generation of students who are interested in a career in the music and entertainment industry, he enjoys giving students insight into how to get started in this industry.
