Jimmy Iovine Is GQ’s Icon Of The Year And Joins Live Nation’s Board

In their December issue, GQ magazine names Interscope Records co-founder, Beats impresario, and all-around music mogul Jimmy Iovine their Icon Of The Year. GQ spoke with Iovine about his past as a record producer and sound engineer, his relationship with Dr. Dre, and the true story of how he discovered Eminem. Read some excerpts below:

On rejecting conventional wisdom: "I approach everything like that. If you don't think that, you're old, whether you're 25 or 55. And it's scary to keep moving. [David] Geffen's been telling me for thirty years: 'Don't define yourself by your job, or else you're not going to be able to move forward. You'll be trapped.' He pounded that into my head. Life is a balance of fear and overcoming it."

On his first meeting with Dre: "Him and Suge [Knight, then CEO of Death Row Records] came in, and they brought The Chronic. I'd just come out of Rattle and Hum with U2. I knew hip-hop was going around, but I had no idea what it was. And then Dre walked in, and I said, "I don't know hip-hop, but I know my speakers. Who engineered it?" Dre said, "I did." When they told me the story of how they made the record, you might as well make a record falling out of a building. They were sneaking into studios; the government was after them; there were lawsuits, one RICO case, all on a bunch of guys who had no money and were making an album. I said, "Wow. If you can do it under those circumstances, let's go."

On signing Eminem: "In 1998, Death Row was exploding; 'Pac got killed just before; everything was fuckin' upside-down. And my assistant got married, so they put in a temp. And the kid had balls. He said, "I went to this rap battle last night. I saw this kid who was incredible." I said, "Figure out how to get a CD from that kid, and I'll play it for Dre." Next day, he comes back: "Here it is." I listen to it, and I go, "I have no idea what the fuck this is." This guy is screaming about his mother; he wants to kill his mother. I come from a place where you don't kill your mother. Right?"

New also announced that Jimmy Iovine has joined the board of Live Nation Entertainment. Jimmy Iovine—along with Dr. Dre and Eminem—were featured on the cover of our April/May 2014 issue where they discussed everything Beats and their respected music careers. Iovine and Dre were honored last month at the Wall Street Journal’s 2014 Innovator Awards for their groundbreaking approach to branding the way people listen to music.

[GQ / New York Times]

Related: Eminem Presents Dr. Dre And Jimmy Iovine With The Wall Street Journal's Innovator Award
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