Lyor Cohen's
name rings bells throughout hip-hop. Born in New York City, Cohen relocated to
Los Angeles during his early years. After graduating from the Univeristy of
Miami with a degree in marketing he returned to LA working as a nightclub
promoter. One fateful day lined Cohen up to book the rising rap group Run-DMC
for one of his events. Through that event a relationship was formed with
the group and upcoming music mogul Russell Simmons. Shortly after, Cohen took
on the challenge of booking shows for Run-DMC. He then began to work with Russell Simmons to develop Rush Artist Management, which would be a subsidiary
to Simmons Def Jam music label. Fast forward to 1999 where Cohen was the CEO of
Island Def Jam, home to successful artist Jay-Z, DMX, and Mariah Carey.
Following his departure
of Def Jam in January of 2004 Cohen was recruited by newly acquired Warner
Music Group (WMG) CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. Bronfman appointed Cohen CEO of WMG
corporations recorded music division. Using the same savvy and blue collar work
ethic as he did with Def Jam led Cohen to the revival of Warner Music. From
2004 until now Cohen and his team are responsible for establishing acts such as
Wiz Khalifa, Cee-Lo Green, Bruno Mars, and recently signing the Maybach Music
Group imprint led by arguably hip-hop's hottest rapper Rick Ross to a seven figure
distribution/marketing/promotions deal.
Now Cohen will
be taking his talents elsewhere to begin his new challenge. On September 24th Cohen resigned as CEO of Warner Music. Cohen once said, ''I'm conscious of
gravity and how far we can fall. I'm much more calm in the construction
phase''. That new phase has Lyor rumored to return to artist management and
cultivating careers from the ground up once again.
Whatever Cohen
decides it will be hard to bet against him. In an industry where label heads
are constantly changing, Cohen has been able to keep his feet firmly planted within
the industry for 30 years. For more information check out the article below.
