Who is Lyor Cohen? Former Def Jam Recordings CEO slams Kanye West's antisemitic remarks

The Global Head of Music at YouTube, Lyor Cohen penned an open letter to rapper Kanye West after he made antisemitic comments on X on Friday, February 7, 2025. The rapper's X account was deactivated following the comments but it is yet to be confirmed if Ye deactivated the account or if the platform did it.

In his letter, Lyor Cohen urged the rapper to be "more sensitive to the pain your words inflict on Jewish communities and all those who stand against hate." According to Variety, the rapper has been going on a tirade against Jewish people, including selling a t-shirt with a swastika, and even calling himself a Nazi on the social media platform.

Lyor Cohen is an entrepreneur and music industry executive in America. Born to Israeli immigrants in New York City in 1959, Cohen grew up in LA and joined the University of Miami after finishing his schooling. At the University, he earned a global marketing and finance degree from the School of Business.

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Lyor Cohen was born in New York City in 1959

Lyor Cohen, who is currently the Global Head of Music at YouTube, is an entrepreneur and music industry executive in the US. He was born to Israeli immigrants in 1959 and began his career in the music industry in 1984 when he joined Rush Management. It is Def Jam Recordings' sister company and handles artist management.

His first assignment was to fill in as the tour manager for Rum-DMC's first UK tour. For the next three years, Cohen worked as the road manager for Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys.

During his time at Rush management, Lyor Cohen personally signed many artists while also running the company's day-to-day operations. The artists he signed included De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, EPMD, Rakim, Slick Rick, and Eric B.

Around 1989, Lyor started transitioning to the label side of the music business when he joined Simmons at Def Jam Recordings. Soon, he and Simmons became partners at the label.

A year later, he brokered a deal to sell the label to Universal Music Group (UMG), creating a music group of their own - Island Def Jam Music Group. This consisted of Def Jam, Mercury, and Island Records.

In 2004, Lyor Cohen was recruited by Warner Music Group (WMG), where he was appointed the CEO and President of Recorded Music. Eventually, Cohen became the Chairman of the group.

Eight years later, Cohen left WMG and co-founded his own company - 300 Entertainment - with his former colleague, Kevin Liles. Under Lyor's leadership, the company signed artists like Megan Thee Stallion, the Migos, and YSL Records.

Lyor Cohen played an active role at 300 Entertainment by the end of 2016, when he was announced as YouTube's Global Head of Music. At the video platform, Cohen's goal was to use the varied technologies at his disposal, including ad-supported and subscription-based content to differentiate the platform from its competitors.

Lyor Cohen spoke about his life beyond music in a 2018 interview with Music Business Worldwide. He said that he had "many parts" to him, adding that he celebrated Shabbat, and was a father who loved sports. Cohen noted that people were shocked when they heard that he doesn't "wake up every single day diving on the [business] opportunity."

"I’m sorry to burst everybody’s bubble. You come to my house, I don’t have a platinum plaque on the wall or any of those things. You wouldn’t know this is Lyor [the industry bigshot]," he said.

Lyor Cohen has been married three times, the first with EK Smith, followed by his second marriage to Amy, which ended in 2006. He married his third wife, Xin Li, a Chinese model and former basketball player, who is currently the deputy chairman of Christie's Asia, in 2016.

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Cohen claimed Kanye's choice of path "sows discord and perpetuates harmful stereotypes"

In his open letter to Kanye West, Lyor Cohen told Ye how his words were a trigger to all the innocent people who recognized the horrors of the Holocaust. He wrote that he was "deeply disappointed and troubled by" Ye's "recent actions involving the use of Nazi symbols and antisemitic rhetoric."

Cohen stated that West's voice and influence carried "a significant responsibility," especially with antisemitism on the rise.

"Your talent and reach could be used to heal and inspire, to bridge divides and promote understanding. Instead, you’ve chosen a path that sows discord and perpetuates harmful stereotypes," he continued.

Lyor ended his letter by urging the Gold Digger rapper to reflect on the shared legacy of the Jewish and Black experiences. He asked Ye to use his platform to "build upon the love and understanding" that existed between our communities.

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This isn't the first time Kanye West has made antisemitic comments on X. According to NBC News, the rapper had tweeted in support of Hitler once in December 2022, which led to the suspension of his account back then.