L.A. Reid is well-known for his highly successful career in the music industry.
He and his wife, Erica Reid, have been together for over two decades.
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Who is music executive L.A. Reid?
Antonio Marquis “L.A.” Reid was born on June 7, 1956, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The 67-year-old music executive, A&R representative, and record producer founded LaFace Records with Babyface in 1989.
He served as the chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment’s Epic Records for six years from July 2011 to 2017.
According to his HarperCollins Canada Biography, Reid “has been a key figure in shaping the sound and experience of popular music for over twenty-five years.”
He got his start in the music industry in the 1980s as a drummer for the Deele, an R&B band that also featured Babyface.
In addition to his work with LaFace Records and Epic Records, he served as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004 and as chairman for the former Island Def Jam Music Group from 2004 to 2011.
The Biography also states that Reid has “produced and/or co-written dozens of number one singles” and has earned three Grammy Awards.
He has also received various other awards, including:
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- UNICEF’s Spirit of Compassion Award
- The Recording Academy’s President’s Merit Award
- The Harvard University Alumni Award for Excellence in Media and Entertainment
Reid has two children with Erica — Arianna and Addison — and the family lives in New York City.
He also has three kids from past relationships, including Antonio, Ashley, and Aaron.
He was previously married to singer-songwriter Perri Arlette Reid — known as Pebbles — from 1989 to 1996.
Who is L.A. Reid’s wife, Erica?
Erica and L.A. Reid have been married since 2000.
They wed in Capri, Italy, per Oprah.com.
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Erica is an author who has penned two bestselling books, including The Thriving Child, which she published in 2012, and Shut Up and Cook!: Modern, Healthy Recipes That Anyone Can Make and Everyone Will Love, which was published in 2017.
The mom of two is also the founder of nécessité, a lifestyle brand geared towards women that emphasizes the importance of health and well-being.
As Erica wrote on the company’s website, she has been a vegan since the 1990s and enjoys her plant-based way of life.
She also describes herself as a “dedicated mother,” a “devoted wife,” and a “lover of life.”
She continues: ” I am our home cook, creative, a mentor, philanthropic, intuitive, fun, loving, a supporter of children, and a believer in GOD. I love to have fun and much more.”
Also according to nécessité’s website, Erica was raised by a single mother and worked three jobs to pay for her college education.
She previously worked as an au pair in Paris, France, and “spent months sleeping without a bed.”
What did L.A. Reid say about The X Factor?
Reid was a judge on the US version of The X Factor for the first two seasons from 2011 to 2012.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Reid spoke negatively about his experience on the popular singing competition show while at a Pepsi-sponsored Midem breakfast chat on June 6, 2015, in Cannes.
He said: “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done.”
He continued: “The first season, yes, I had a great time. It was a little bit of a vacation. I’d been making music, working at running labels for a long time, and it was a little bit of, ‘Let me just have some fun.’
“But the second season I was fully engaged trying run a label, and it wasn’t fun anymore.
“And more importantly, it really affected my taste — it almost destroyed it. It completely threw me off — by the way, I have a book coming out soon, and it’ll all be on my book.
“But yeah, what works for television isn’t necessarily the thing that works in the traditional journey of music, so I adjusted my taste for television.
“But the truth is, I lowered my bar — my bar was quite high, if I’m being honest, and as a result I didn’t have the same level of success. The bar is quite high again now, but it was damaging.
“I worked with Simon Cowell, who I love and have great respect for and he has great taste, but being around him for that long, I started to take on his taste, and I’m an amateur at having his taste — I’m good at my kind of taste.”
Despite his thoughts on his experience, Reid did acknowledge the series’ high ratings.
He said: “We definitely had the audience. And I can’t criticize Simon because it was his show, and we did well.
“But I think he made the statement that if we didn’t do 20 million viewers, it was a failure. We did 14 million, which is actually a runaway success, but because we didn’t do 20, it was a failure.
“To be honest? The truth is: The Voice cleaned our clock.”