One of the music industry’s most well-known executives, Antonio “L.A.” Reid, is going to Sony Music, where he will be the chairman of the restructured Epic Label Group, a group that will include Jive Records. Reid is expected to take this new position after the 4th of July holiday weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Reid will be taking the reins after Amanda Ghost’s tumultuous year of work. Epic will be moving forward with new signees including YouTube sensation Karmin, a duo that became famous for covering songs like “Look At Me Now” by Chris Brown and Lil Wayne. Epic is also set to absorb other more established artists including Pink and Usher, acts that Reid originally broke with LaFace.
The most interesting Hip Hop related artists that may be affected are OutKast. The duo won six Grammys under Reid with Arista Records in the early 2000s. Some feel that reuniting with Reid may be a sign of new music to come from the ATLiens but a reunion is not certain.
While Reid has worked with several Hip Hop artists including Nas and Jay-Z, Reid was once criticized by G.O.O.D. Music emcee Big Sean who said Reid doesn’t understand Hip Hop.
HipHopDX will keep you posted as this develops.
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What the fuck is a chairman anyways? What to they do?
And why do they called it a chairman?
I’d rather be a couchman myself
Didn’t LA Reid run LaFace records? Anyone who brought us OutKast and Goodie Mob is good in my book. 🙂
it’s a good move on Sony & their new chairman “Doug Morris” part. Bring in a industry veteran who started out as an artist first(the deele, with Babyface), ran his own boutique label (laface, with Babyface again) then became an executive (Arista, before SonyBMG brought him out). It’s a new regime at Sony with Doug Morris at the helm. I’d expect he’ll let go Rick Rubin co-ceo position at Columbia & make just a creative consultant. Rick wasn’t doing anything over there in the first place. Plus, Steve Barrett will be fired and his position will be given to Sylvia Rhone… I forsee it…..
L.A. not only doesn’t “understand” hip-hop, like most old R&B niggas, he outright hates it, and doesn’t support it. L.A. is only interested in the bottom line when it comes to hip-hop. OutKast had a lot of creative control, because they always sold a lot of records. But never forget, this is the same man who signed Chingy,and singlehandedly destroyed Def Jam. This is a bad look for Epic… and Epic FAIL, if you will. And to all the artists who sign, get yourselves a lawyer, bookkeeper, and an accountant, cause everybody who fucks with L.A.- from TLC to Toni Braxton- ends up BROKE!!!
I hear your statements & there are truths to them. But this is the same man that put out Goodie Mob’s posthumous debut “Soul Food” with the thought-provoking single “Cell Therapy” & “Soul Food”. As well as giving “T.I.” a shot , before he became the superstar he is now….. Now!!!! , as far as the backruptcy with Toni & TLC. It was “widely known” that both artists, were heavy spenders. Even L.A. advised them not to over do it; they choose to spend “their” how they wanted….
The only credit i will give L.A Reid is for bringing out outkast and goodie mobb,and giving them creative control.Other than that, i agree with Big sean, L.A reid does not understand hiphop, look at what he did to ghostface,beanie sigel, keith murray, redman, method man,LL Cool J,freeway,the roots, ludacris’s theatre of the mind album and to many other lyricists on defjam, unacceptable, ohh he even ignored some r&b chaps like jeremih, amerie,he single handedly turned defjam into a pop label