Jeff “Chairman” Mao is an author, music journalist, documentary film producer, DJ, and curator. A contributing writer for Vibe, The Source, and XXL magazines during the heyday of ’90s hip-hop journalism, he is a longtime member of the creative collective ego trip, with which he co-authored the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award finalist, ego trip's Book of Rap Lists (1999). Between 2003-2019, Mao worked extensively with Red Bull Music Academy as an interview host, and radio and film producer. In addition, he was an associate curator for Red Bull Arts’ exhibition RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder (2018) and co-authored/-edited the 2024 artist monograph of the same name. In 2025, Mao served as story producer for the Critics Choice Award-winning, Emmy-nominated feature documentary, Sly Lives! Aka the Burden of Black Genius. He resides in Harlem with his family and his record collection.