LA Reid

Antonio “L.A.” Reid (born June 7, 1956 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a musician, producer, songwriter, author and music executive most known for his work with Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds in the 1980s and 1990s. The two started working together in the 1980s as members of the R&B group The Deele and they produced a number of the group’s songs including the Top 10 hit “Two Occasions.” After leaving the group, L.A. & Face went on to form their “LaFace” brand and went on to write and produce smash hits for a number of artists including Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, Karyn White, The Whispers, Whitney Houston, Paula Abdul, Boyz II Men, and Pebbles, who Reid was married to from 1989 to 1996. Their record label took off in the early 1990s with the successes of TLC, OutKast, Usher, and Toni Braxton.

After L.A. & Face sold their half of the LaFace label to BMG in May 2000 and the LaFace Records imprint merging with its parent company Arista, Reid succeeded Arista founder Clive Davis as the president and CEO of the label. During this time, he signed Avril Lavigne, Pink, and Ciara as well as oversaw the releases of Usher’s Confessions and OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below albums, which both hit diamond status with over 10 million sales. He left Arista in 2004 and became the chairman and CEO of The Island Def Jam Music Group where he helped bring artists such as Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Kanye West, and Justin Bieber into the spotlight while re-energizing the careers of artists such as Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez.

He left Def Jam in 2011 and became the chairman and CEO of Epic Records. The same year, he joined the FOX talent show The X Factor as a judge, which he did for the show’s first two seasons. Reid has received multiple BMI Awards and Grammys for his work among other awards after being in the record industry for over 30 years. He released his memoir Sing to Me: My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who’s Next in 2016.