Island Def Jam chairman Antonio “L.A.” Reid recently revealed his thoughts on 50 Cent’s success within the music industry labeling him one of the “all-time greats.”
Speaking with renowned television host Charlie Rose, Reid dished out Fif’s accomplishments comparing his head-to-head 2007 Soundscan battle with Kanye West.
“50 Cent is one of the all time greatest [rappers],” Reid explained. “He’s one of the greats. First of all, he had a great voice and as a rapper, an amazing voice. He was authentic, he is also a great song writer, right? So they were evenly matched for the sort of battle. And I think Kanye, at that point, had the better song…I like to believe it’s always the great song. It’s always the song…[But] a good artist with a great song can be a one-hit wonder. It can be number one…Some of the greats don’t always go for a number one record…Or Jay-Z who in my opinon is the Frank Sinatra of our day has had many, many hits and has huge success but Jay told me he had never had a number one pop record. But he has more number one albums than any artist alive…But I do know he won’t jeopardize his integrity to get a number one record. (The Charlie Rose Show)
Along with handling multiple rap acts, Reid recently gave fans an update on whether Jay’s Blueprint III would be released on Live Nation or Def Jam.
“We still have an arrangement with Jay-Z,” he said in an interview. “We’re hoping we could figure it out. If we can’t figure it out, it won’t lessen my interest in his record and in his career…To me, the Blueprint 3 is an important album, however it comes out. If it comes out in a cereal box, it doesn’t matter to me. As long as it’s one of the great records of our time…I wanna know that artists like Jay-Z and business people like Jay-Z can have a 40-year career…I wanna know that hip-hop has the legs, and it wasn’t a trend in music. It wasn’t something that can come and go, but it will stick around and last.” (MTV News)
Covering a variety of music acts, Reid has always expressed his focus on developing artists’ careers.
“I love being in the middle of it,” Reid said in an interview. “Exactly. I live for it. Over my entire career I have always identified talent, whether I was an artist at the beginning of my career, as a writer and producer, as label head. For the most part it has been the same thing. I live–and I have always lived–to identify with and associate with artists that I’ve found incredible.” (Ebony)
Reid is responsible for helping guide the careers of past and present urban stars.
L.A. Reid is the co-founder of LaFace Records. He and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds were responsible for helping bring TLC, Usher, Ciara, Outkast, Dido, Avril Lavigne and Pink to multi-platinum album sells. He was once appointed president of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004. He soon was appointed as Chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group. As chairman of Island Def Jam, Reid is responsible for bringing R&B group 112, and rapper Young Jeezy. He is also responsible for appointing rapper Jay-Z as president of Def Jam and Def Soul Records, and guiding singer Mariah Carey’s comeback with her 2005 hit album, The Emancipation of Mimi. (Net Glimse)
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