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  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Def Jam Records is the most dominant and successful record label in the music industry today. Def Jam lives and breathes by one rule: continuity, and the men behind the legendary label are: Kevin Liles, Lyor Cohen, and founder/CEO Russell Simmons are the brains and life behind the label. Def Jam is the home of many of raps greatest names like LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Jay-Z etc. these are the names and this the label that brought rap music to the mainstream without changing or sugar-coating anything just to get to the top.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lyor Cohen co-president of Island Def Jam music who oversees black music at Universal Records. In a January 2001 interview in â€Å"The Source† magazine Cohen says â€Å"we tend to our own gardens here, we don’t look into our neighbors garden. We are happy to see them do whatever they want to do, drive whatever they want to drive. No matter how much they â€Å"bling-bling† we don’t care about that†. This is what makes Def Jam so successful, they don’t â€Å"lean† with the trends that other labels and artists set, they make their own trends and do a great job at it. Cohen, ex-manager of Run-DMC, and longtime partner of Russell Simmons has been with Def Jam since almost Day one. Cohen Says â€Å"not only are we selling the most records consistently for the longest period of time† he points out â€Å" we have the most diversified hip-hop empire period.† Cohen is an up in your face businessman and complime nts the laid back demeanor of his two other partners. Cohen who seeked out most of the â€Å"power artists’ that Def Jam has on their legendary label, he also oversees money and the contract of all the artists on the label. His greatest asset, according to insiders is his ability to persuade white execs for extra money. But Cohen’s a big talker who can be heavy handed and it makes working with the powerhouse a bit hard to work with.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kevin Liles who is over Def Soul Records, who started out as an intern, is now part of the three-headed monster and when the 5’3 giant barks people listen. Liles states in the January 2001 â€Å"The Source† magazine â€Å" Def Jam is more than a company name and logo it’s a lifestyle. It all comes back to foundation, Def Jam just keeps it in the trenches†. Liles says later in the interview â€Å"we spent 18 years building a brand that represents the best of hip-hop.