'L.A.' Reid hired as chairman of Island Def Jam

Jet, March 1, 2004

Antonio "L.A." Reid was recently hired as chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group less than a month after he left Arista Records where he served as president and chief executive officer.

Reid, who is responsible for making artists such as Out Kast, Toni Braxton, TLC and Pink top sellers on the music charts, will succeed Lyor Cohen who is now at Warner Music Group.

In January media reports suggested that in spite of his sales and artistic achievements, Reid was forced out of his position due to excessive spending (JET, Feb. 2). Soon after his departure from Arista, the rap duo OutKast, who Reid discovered in the early '90s, made history by becoming the first hip-hop group to win a Grammy for the prestigious Album of the Year Award for their latest project Speakerhoxxx / The Love Below.

Island Def Jam Music Group is home to such record labels as Island Records, Def Jam Recordings, Def Soul and Roc-A-Fella Records.

Some of the musical talent that Reid has inherited includes rappers Ludacris, Ja Rule and Kanye West, R&B group 112 and singer Fefe Dobson.