Today, Feb. 27, marks the 51st birthday of record executive and media influencer, Kevin Liles. Thanks to his hard work and industry power moves, he's been toasting to the good life for a while now.

Growing up in Maryland, Liles got his start as a member of the Baltimore DJ crew Numarx back in the 80s. The group co-wrote the song "Girl You Know It's True," which you may know as one of R&B Milli Vanilli's biggest hits. Liles was involved in music from the start, and his hip-hop based beginnings would be the spark that lead to a storied and ongoing career.

Liles was the President of Def Jam Recordings and executive VP of Island Def Jam from 1999 to 2004, fostering the careers of some of the biggest names in music. As the umbrella label overseeing imprints like Disturbing Tha Peace, Roc-A-Fella and G.O.O.D. Music, Liles has certainly played a part in making artists like Ludacris, Jay-Z and Kanye West (and many more) who they are today.

After Def Jam, Liles moved on to Warner Music Group, where he helped take the company public, serving as executive VP to music mogul Lyor Cohen until 2009, when he stepped down to pursue personal business ventures.

Liles now splits his time between his own artist management company, KWL Management, his technology apps, his charitable work and 300 Entertainment, a label which originally he founded with the aforementioned Lyor Cohen, Todd Moscowitz and Roger Gold. After Lyor exited 300 Ent. in 2016, Liles took on the role of CEO. At 300 Entertainment, Liles oversees artists such as Young Thug, Tee Grizzley, Shy Glizzy, OMB Peezy and more.

Happy Birthday, Kevin Liles!

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