L.A. Reid

Antonio "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956 in Cincinnati, Ohio). He is a three-time Grammy Award-winning record executive, songwriter, producer, who is responsible for signing and helping bring Mariah Carey, Avril Lavigne, Usher, Rihanna, Kanye West, The Killers, Pink, Dido, Fall Out Boy, Outkast, TLC, Toni Braxton, Ciara, Ne-Yo, Bon Jovi and many others to worldwide superstar status.

Career

In 2008, Antonio “L.A.” Reid began his fifth year as Chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group. The industry continues to take sharp notice of his accomplishments and the challenges he has overcome in his successful rejuvenation and revitalization of the company. While nurturing the careers of Island Def Jam’s core artist roster and bringing an array of new artists to the forefront, he has also aggressively guided the company into a future where the synergy of artists, music, video, new technologies, new business models, and a host of unforeseen marketing and promotion innovations are all being developed.

A consummate music business professional, Reid’s allegiance to his artists is second to none, and he has achieved his goals in grand style. Among the many successes of his first four years at the head of IDJMG are the following albums: Mariah Carey’s The Emancipation Of Mimi (10-times platinum worldwide, the biggest-selling album of 2005, and winner of three Grammy Awards); Kanye West’s Late Registration (triple-platinum winner of three Grammy Awards) and its follow-up Graduation (triple-platinum winner of three Grammy Awards); Bon Jovi’s Have A Nice Day (triple-platinum worldwide) and its double-platinum follow-up Lost Highway; Rihanna’s succession of worldwide multi-platinum best-sellers Music Of the Sun, A Girl Like Me, and Good Girl Gone Bad; Ne-Yo’s Grammy-winning platinum debut album In My Own Words and its two follow-ups, the Grammy-winning platinum Because Of You, and Year Of The Gentleman; and Young Jeezy’s multi-platinum debut Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, and its two follow-ups both of which debuted at #1, The Inspiration, and The Recession.

More: Reid oversaw the successful releases of the Killers’ 2004 triple-platinum debut Hot Fuss, followed by Sam’s Town and Sawdust and Day & Age; Fall Out Boy’s 3 million worldwide-selling 2005 debut From Under The Cork Tree, and multi-platinum follow-ups Infinity On High and Folie A Deux; Oscar-winner Melissa Etheridge’s The Awakening (and her first holiday album, A New Thought For Christmas); Janet Jackson’s Island Records debut Discipline (which debuted at #1); Nas’ controversial Hip-Hop Is Dead and 2008 untitled album (both of which debuted at #1); hip-hop superstar and actor Ludacris’ double-platinum The Red Light District and its follow-ups Release Therapy and Theater of the Mind; Rick Ross’ 2006 major label debut Port Of Miami and its follow-up Trilla (both of which debuted at #1); and the introduction of Duffy with her critically-acclaimed Rockferry album on the newly-relaunched Mercury Records label.

The rejuvenation of Def Jam Recordings and its affiliate labels under Reid’s watchful tutelage has set the model for hip-hop’s premiere destination as it enters its third decade. Reid has been the instrumental force in the restructuring of the music group that now includes Def Jam, Disturbing Tha Peace, and Slip ’N Slide. Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Ludacris, Young Jeezy, The Dream, Rick Ross, Fabolous, LL Cool J, and Def Jam’s expanding roster define the state-of-the-art in hip-hop and R&B today.

At the same time, the broad success of the Mariah Carey, the Killers, Fall Out Boy, Bon Jovi, Lionel Richie, Janet Jackson, and Duffy have reconfigured a new spirit at Island and Mercury Records.

But as everyone in the entertainment industry is aware, Antonio “L.A.” Reid is no stranger to challenge. As the co-founder (with Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds) of LaFace Records in 1989, he guided its ascent for more than a decade. In addition to his executive abilities, Reid is an accomplished drummer, songwriter and producer who acknowledges a diverse range of musical influences: Miles Davis, Sly Stone, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and James Brown among them. Reid and Babyface came to prominence in Reid’s hometown Cincinnati group the Deele, whose string of three LPs and nearly a dozen chart singles (spanning 1983-88) helped establish the Solar label. On their own, the team of “L.A.” Reid and Babyface expanded their scope as collaborative songwriters and producers for many chart-topping acts, including the Whispers, Bobby Brown, Karyn White, Pebbles, After 7, Paula Abdul, and of course, reigning R&B/pop diva Whitney Houston on her I’m Your Baby Tonight album of 1990.

The duo earned 33 #1 singles, numerous Producer Of The Year and Songwriter of the Year Awards, and three Grammy awards. “L.A.” and Babyface ultimately decided to establish their own record company in order to maintain creative continuity with the acts they produced. Founded in Atlanta, LaFace Records pacted with Arista Records in 1989. The 50/50 joint venture was the first of its kind for an R&B/pop production duo and provided the template for virtually every similar arrangement to come within the industry. Later on, L.A. Reid would play a pivotal role in attracting other R&B/pop producers to establish their own successful ventures, notably New York-based hip-hop impresario Sean “P-Diddy” Combs, whose Bad Boy Records co-venture deal with Arista started in 1994; and Atlanta-based Dallas Austin, who established Rowdy Records in 1993.

When Reid took over as Arista’s president and Chief Executive Officer in July 2000, he not only had the careers of all the LaFace artists to guide forward – among them Toni Braxton, OutKast, TLC, and Usher – but was also responsible for Arista’s core roster of world-class superstars, including Dido, Santana, Sarah McLachlan, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Kenny G. After signing legendary hitmakers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and their Los Angeles-based Flyte Tyme Records to Arista, joint ventures followed with Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def and the Neptunes Star Trak label. Reid flourished at the head of Arista, breaking a string of new young artists including Pink, Avril Lavigne, Bone Crusher, Ciara, Anthony Hamilton, J-Kwon, Youngbloodz, Kelis, and others.

Reid’s personal successes at Arista included Pink’s Can’t Take Me Home (2000) and Missunda¬ztood (2001); Avril Lavigne’s Let Go (2002) and Under My Skin (2003); OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003); and Usher’s Confessions, the biggest-selling album of 2004. All these albums (and many others) were executive produced by Antonio “L.A.” Reid during his tenure at Arista.

Underscoring Reid’s success as a leader in the music industry is his growth as a businessman through both hands-on experience and professional training. In 1999, he was accepted into the Harvard Business School’s prestigious Advanced Management Program. Designed for working, senior-level executives, the program provided a crash course in contemporary management principles with emphasis on evaluating case studies. The only music business professional among a group of CEOs and COOs representing a variety of business disciplines from the U.S. and abroad, Reid received intensive MBA training while living on the university’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 2006, Reid was honored to accept the 2006 Music Visionary of the Year Award from UJA-Federation of New York and the Music for Youth Foundation. The award was given by MFY’s Officers and Board of Trustees in recognition of their mutual objectives of making quality music education available to underprivileged young people.

On June 16, 2006, in celebration of his 50th birthday, Reid was honored by the city of Atlanta with a cornerstone in his name, dedicated by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. The stone commemorated Reid’s “contribution to the economic and community develop¬ment for the city of Atlanta through his enhancement of the local film and music industry.” The dedication took place at the major intersection of Lenox Road and East Paces Ferry Road in Atlanta’s Buckhead area, one block from the long-time headquarters of La Face Records.

In October 2007, Reid’s mother, Emma Reid, was honored by NABFEME (National Association of Black Female Executives in Music & Entertainment, Inc.) at the organization’s annual “Celebration of the Celebrity Mom” as part of its International Women's Leadership Summit in Charlotte, NC.

In 2008, Reid and Babyface produced the charitable single “Just Stand Up,” their first creative reunion on record in nearly two decades. The song stars Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Leona Lewis, LeAnn Rimes, and Carrie Underwood. Funds from sales of the single go to Stand Up To Cancer, to accelerate ground-breaking research and bring new therapies to patients more quickly. The tv perform¬ance premiere of the song took place on September 5th, the climax of the unprecedented Stand Up To Cancer telecast on ABC, CBS and NBC (and seen in over 170 countries worldwide), the first simultaneous cross-network telecast ever to raise funds for the fight against a disease.

Antonio “L.A.” Reid’s diversity, adaptability, and dedication are the hallmarks of a brilliant career. In turn, they contribute to his reputation as one of the most respected and formidable executives on the contemporary music landscape.

External Links

[http://www.rmpmagazine.com/Antonio-Reid.html Antonio "L.A." Reid - Making of a Industry Mogul]

References