L.A. Reid: The Star Maker

            Most music fans only pay attention to the artists that they listen to, not bothering to find out who is behind the scenes of an album’s production.  There are many music artists who are also producers, including Kanye West, Jay-Z, the RZA, 9^th Wonder— just to name a few.  Though you may have never heard of him, Antonio “L.A.” Reid has been producing albums for over 25 years, working his way up in the music industry before the others ever set eyes on a studio.

According to About.com, Antonio Reid was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 7, 1956 and earned the nickname “L.A.” from his favorite Los Angeles Dodgers jersey.  He played drums throughout high school and went on to become a member of the ‘80’s R&B group The Deele with his friend and future business partner Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.   

The two played with The Deele for about five years before leaving to start their record label, LaFace. The leader of Arista Records, Clive Davis, helped them establish LaFace, the record label.  In the ‘90’s LaFace put out records by up-and-coming acts such as Damian Dame, Toni Braxton, Outkast, and Usher.  These early releases asserted the label’s credibility in popular music and set Reid on a path of upward mobility which has continued throughout his career.

According to an LA Times article from earlier this year, Reid is now the Chairman and CEO of Epic Records, one of Sony Music Entertainment’s largest subsidiaries.  He was previously CEO and President of Arista Records before moving on to Chairman and CEO of The Island Def Jam Music Group.  

There he helped re-launch Mariah Carey’s career with her multi-platinum “The Emancipation of Mimi,” along with promoting Kanye West and Rihanna.  His most recent achievement was the signing of Pop superstar Justin Bieber to Island Records, a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group and one of Sony’s other subsidiary companies.

Although Reid is credited for saving the careers of Mariah Carey, Usher, Pink and others, there are two Atlanta-based groups who I think are among the best artists Reid has ever supported: our own Rap groups Goodie Mob and Outkast.  LaFace has distributed all of Outkast’s albums, and Reid himself served as producer or executive producer on their first three records.  Billboard  has reported that Reid will take Outkast to Epic Records now that he is the label’s CEO, along with many other musicians who were previously signed to Arista/LaFace and Island Def Jam.   

Reid also served as executive producer on Goodie Mob’s first two CD’s, “Soul Food” and “Still Standing.”  Those pieces have become legendary within the southern hip-hop lexicon, and their notoriety contributed to the successful solo careers of two of the group’s members including Big Gipp and Cee-Lo Green.  According to Cee-Lo’s Twitter account, the group will release a reunion CD later this year or next year titled “We Sell Drugs Too,” and Cee-Lo has recently been joined onstage by members of Goodie Mob to perform some of their classic tracks.  

Although L.A. Reid is keeping a watchful eye on Sony’s catalogue, he is always on the lookout for prospective artists.  As Justin Bieber says in an article with The Hollywood Reporter, “L.A. Reid is an OG.  He gets it.  It’s all about the music with him.”  Usher agrees, “There’s no better executive to be associated with…than L.A.”  

Reid says in the same article that he has “learned to stay in business…you keep your doors open and the lights on and a star will walk in.”  When Reid is confronted with former stars like Aaron Carter and Jennifer Lopez, he says that disappointments such as these only motivate stars like Bieber to achieve more.  Obviously, Reid is an executive who chooses to maximize a person’s potential, or simply not use them at all.

- Taylor Burns