No I.D. has been killing it at Def Jam this year (Logic's Under Pressure and Common's No Smiling both benefitted from his production), so the Chicagoan recently got bumped up to head A&R man at the venerable hip-hop label.
"In a year where Def Jam has established such new artists as Iggy Azalea, Jhene Aiko, YG, and August Alsina, no one is better suited to creatively represent and expertly guide our label moving forward than No I.D.," CEO Steve Bartels told Billboard (via XXL). "He is not only a proven hitmaker and creative thinker, but he is a bold leader who is well respected by both the artists and executives alike. Together, we are posed for even greater levels of success."
I.D. was obviously overjoyed.
"The Def Jam brand has never been more culturally relevant," he said. "And our vision remains the same as it was when Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons launched the label 30 years ago; and that is simply to be the best. Steve Bartels and I are fully committed to carry that vision and standard for excellence into the future."
Bartels recently sat down for an interview with Billboard in which he dropped names with reckless abandon. Among the other perks of his crazy awesome job, this dude has already heard Kanye West's new album.
"It sounds incredible," Bartels said. "He's focused, energetic, happy and making unbelievably great music. Kanye always wants to make sure that when it actually arrives it's at the best possible place it could be, that the first song is as big as the last. He's the absolute bar of perfection in terms of that. I tell him all the time: Some of his previous albums are still testing out in the marketplace as high, if not higher, than when they first came out because the music is still fresh to people."
I.D. was responsible for Kanye's "Bound 2" off 2013's Yeezus.
