Kevin Liles (born February 27, 1968) is an American

record executive A music executive or record executive is a person within a record label who works in senior management and makes executive decisions over the label's artists. Their role varies greatly but in essence, they can oversee one, or many, aspects of a re ...

and co-founder and CEO of

300 Entertainment Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, ele ...

. In 2020, Kevin was recognized by Billboard Magazine as R&B/Hip-Hop Executive of the Year for both his efforts in activism and the continued success of

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion (pronounced "Megan the Stallion"), is an American rapper and songwriter. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention when videos of her ...

Early life and education

Liles grew up near

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and graduated from Woodlawn High School. He was raised by his mother, Alberta Fennoy, an accountant, and stepfather Jerome Fennoy, a railway conductor, along with three siblings. He attended

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...

, studying engineering on an electrical engineering scholarship from NASA, but left the program prior to graduating to pursue a musical career.

Career

Liles began his music career as a member of the Baltimore-based DJ crew, Numarx. In 1986, the group co-wrote "

Girl You Know It's True ''Girl You Know It's True'' is a 1989 album that served as the North American debut of German contemporary R&B duo Milli Vanilli. It is a version of Milli Vanilli's Europe-only release '' All or Nothing'' reconfigured and repackaged for the US ...

," which was first recorded by Numarx but later became a massive first hit for

Milli Vanilli Milli Vanilli were a German-French R&B duo from Munich. The group was founded by Frank Farian in 1988 and consisted of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. Their debut album, '' All or Nothing'' in Europe, reconfigured as ''Girl You Know It's True'' in ...

. Liles was president of

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

and executive vice president of

The Island Def Jam Music Group The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordin ...

from 1999 to 2004. He served as executive vice president for

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

, working under his former Island Def Jam associate

Lyor Cohen Lyor Cohen born October 3, 1959) is an American record executive and entrepreneur. Cohen has been actively involved in hip hop at various record labels for more than 30 years. He started by managing rappers for Rush Productions, then led Def Ja ...

before stepping down as executive vice president of Warner Music Group to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors in September 2009. In 2009, Liles launched New York City-based KWL Enterprises. In 2012, he co-founded

with

, Roger Gold and

Todd Moscowitz Todd Moscowitz is a music industry executive. He is currently the founder and CEO of Alamo Records and the manager of Gucci Mane. Previously, Moscowitz co-founded 300 Entertainment, served as a co-president and CEO of Warner Bros. Records an ...

Philanthropy

Liles' philanthropic activity has included serving as co-chair for the

New Yorkers For Children New Yorkers For Children (NYFC) is a not-for-profit organization which helps people who have aged out of the foster care system. Founded in 1996 by Nicholas Scoppetta in Manhattan, New York, the organization focuses on the academic success of fo ...

Gala and his creation and ongoing participation in the ''Kevin Liles for a Better Baltimore Foundation''.

Personal life

Liles is married to Erika Liles. He and Erika have two daughters together.

References

External links

Kevin Liles' official siteApril 4, 2012 Kevin Liles launched his 1 million free career assessment challenge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liles, Kevin 1968 births Living people Record producers from Maryland Businesspeople from Baltimore African-American record producers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people