Voting Station

Lyor Cohen

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Music Producer

The Resume

    (October 3, 1959- )
    Born in Manhattan, New York
    Co-founder of 300 Entertainment
    Global Head of Music at YouTube
    President of Def Jam Records (1988-98)
    CEO of Warner Music Group (2004-12)

Why he might be annoying:

    He's been called a Hip Hop 'culture vulture.'
    His parents gave him a name that sounds an awful lot like 'Liar.'
    A judgment was ruled against him and Def Jam for $54 million on charges of interfering with TVT's release of a Ja Rule and Irv Gotti album (2002).
    He later won a ruling in federal appeals court to reduce the judgment against him and Island/Def Jam to only $100,000 (June 15, 2004).
    He claimed he didn't know that Kanye West was wearing a Make America Great Again hat in the selfie they took which went viral in 2018.
    He was seen flashing the OK sign in the photo, which has morphed into an Alt-Right symbol (although its unlikely he meant for it to be interpreted as such).

Why he might not be annoying:

    His grandfather was an Israeli Army general.
    He helped launch the careers of Kanye West and Jay-Z.
    He helped transition Hip-Hop to the mainstream.
    He's good friends with Russell Simmons and Jon Bon Jovi.
    He sits on the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Harbor, an organization that helps underprivileged kids in Harlem.
    He credits his son Az with saving his life when he experienced an artery blockage and heart scare during N.W.A's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in April 2016.
    He defended taking the photo with Kanye, saying: 'He is someone I care about. I don’t abandon people. With great music comes great pain and stress. The music is incredible!'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 9 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 8 Votes: 100% Annoying