“When I Was Over At Def Jam W/ L.A. Reid & Jay-Z, He Had To Co-Sign Me”

Written By S. Samuel

With New York rapper Uncle Murda reunited with music executive L.A. Reid over at Epic Records, SOHH hit up the ex-Def Jam artist to get his take on their current relationship.

1.7k Views Comments Off on “When I Was Over At Def Jam W/ L.A. Reid & Jay-Z, He Had To Co-Sign Me”

Despite Reid being behind R&B divas like Rihanna and Mariah Carey during his run at Def Jam, Murda quickly pointed out the renowned exec’s hip-hop credentials.

“People don’t even realize with L.A. Reid, when I first signed to Def Jam, when Jay-Z had signed me to Def Jam, L.A. Reid was over there also,” Murda told SOHH. “So he had to sign off on it. L.A. Reid was there. Like Sheek [Louch told y’all], L.A. Reid is into this hip-hop sh*t for real. Don’t get that f*cked up, he’s got love for this sh*t. When I was over there at Def Jam with L.A. Reid and Jay-Z, he had to co-sign me and everything. And this time, I hooked back up with him through Chris Lighty, God Bless him. I got the deal over there with Epic and Reid was like, ‘Let’s make this sh*t happen this time. For real. Let’s take it to where it’s got to go.’ So L.A. Reid is very much into this sh*t.” (SOHH)

A couple years ago, Def Jam’s Sheek Louch hit up SOHH with similar comments.

“For one, let me shout [L.A. Reid] out and I’m not even being generic,” Sheek told SOHH. “I gotta shout him out for even giving me the green light to get this deal over here. Mr. L.A. Reid. And even when I was playing my music for the whole staff, he came in and said, ‘Yo man, you got some good music on there. Keep doing your thing.’ Just overall, he co-signed a lot of stuff so hopefully I don’t let nobody down and deliver. I’m definitely going to deliver good music regardless but it is what it is and I definitely appreciate it. He’s gotta approve everything. He’s the one that’s gottay say, ‘OK, that’s the single, let’s go.'” (SOHH)

Unlike Murda and Sheek, ex-Def Jam rapper Shyne previously told SOHH about his issues with Reid.

“I’m definitely trying to get with Cash Money but the Def Jam thing is a question mark right now,” Shyne told SOHH. “I’ve been fixing to get up out of there for a while now because [Island Def Jam CEO] L.A. Reid don’t care about hip-hop. The people up there, they don’t know what they’re doing. When you don’t have a strong leader, where you gonna go? … They don’t care about hip-hop music. You give them a hip-hop record with an R&B singer, you “might” have a chance. They don’t care. You got The Roots, Ghostface, Nas, probably the best hip-hop roster you could imagine and they do nothing. L.A. Reid doesn’t want nothing to do with rappers — it’s nothing personal, I don’t have nothing personal with dude but he makes it known he doesn’t care about hip-hop. So I’m really interested in seeing who’s gonna replace him. Because I know he’s been replaced — so I wanna find out who’s gonna take his spot before I decide what I’m gonna do with Def Jam…The music that we make is responsible for pop, R&B, everything that’s jumping right now…” (SOHH)

The music icon’s move to Epic became public knowledge in June 2011.

Sources tells THR the 55-year-old executive is expected to arrive at 550 Madison just after the fourth of July holiday (Sony Entertainment’s new chief executive Doug Morris officially takes the reigns on July 1). In his new position, Reid will inherit the label last helmed by songwriter Amanda Ghost, whose controversial one-year stint nearly destroyed the company. Since her exit in late 2010, things have quieted some, but hits are still hard to come by, despite some significant strides, namely breaking The Script and, on a smaller scale, Denmark’s Oh Land. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Check out Uncle Murda speaking on Epic Records:

Comments Off on “When I Was Over At Def Jam W/ L.A. Reid & Jay-Z, He Had To Co-Sign Me”

Written by S. Samuel

Steven Samuel is the co-founder of SOHH.com.

Big Boi Reveals How Distanced He Really Is From Andre 3000

Female Athlete Addresses Lil Wayne Booty Call Hype