Lyor Cohen

ABOUT LYOR COHEN

Music executive known for having led the iconic Def Jam Recordings studio.

In 1981, he graduated from the University of Miami (Florida) with a degree in global marketing and finance. He followed this with a short stint working as a finance officer for Bank Leumi in the Beverly Hills office.

He began his career in the music business as an associate of rapper and producer Russell Simmons , working at his company, Rush Productions. He began running Def Jam day-to-day in 1989, and eventually brokered a deal to have it become independent of Sony Music Productions in 1994. This new era saw him introduce influential artists to the mainstream hip-hop community. They include DMX , Ludacris , and Kanye West .

He was born in New York City to Israeli immigrants. They eventually moved to Los Angeles, where he grew up.

He considers rapper and entrepreneur Jay Z to be a close personal friend.