Antonio "L.A." Reid is a record executive, songwriter, and record producer best known for introducing us to the likes of Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Kanye West, and many more.

Despite his nickname, Reid is not from Los Angeles, but rather, Cincinnati. Reid's first recorded appearance was with a funk rock group out of Cincinnati, Pure Essence. Then, in the 1980s Reid joined the R&B group The Deele, whose single, "Two Occasions," peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1989, with fellow Deele bandmate Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Reid founded LaFace, a record label best known for signing Usher, Toni Braxton, TLC, and Outkast. In 2000, Reid and Edmonds sold LaFace to BMG, at which point it became an imprint of Arista Records, and Reid succeeded his mentor, Clive Davis, as CEO and president of Arista. As President of Arista Records, Reid signed Pink, Ciara, and Avril Lavigne. In 2004, after his successful stint at Arista, Reid became the Chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam Music Group and famously helped relaunch Mariah Carey's career, as well as aided in the success of Kanye, Rihanna, and Justin Bieber. Reid stepped down from his position at Def Jam in March of 2011 and announced his position as a judge on Simon Cowell's American reboot of British phenomenon, The X-Factor. Months later, Reid became the Chairman and CEO of Epic Label Group, which includes Epic and Jive Records.

Reid was once married to Perri McKissack, the '80s dance-pop singer/music manager better known as Pebbles. Just before taking over at Arista in 2000, Reid married Erica Holton, a former schoolteacher. He has four children: one from a previous relationship, two with Pebbles, and one with Erica. His son Aaron was one of the few boys to ever appear on an episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16 — the party was held at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club, and the teens shared the dance floor with Kanye West, Diddy, and Jermaine Dupri. [Image via AP]