For months since Barry Weiss took over as Chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam Music Group following the exit of L.A Reid, many speculated and wondered who would head the legendary Def Jam label. Murder Inc founder Irv Gotti was campaigning hard for the gig even meeting with founder Russell Simmons in hopes of landing the godfather's endorsement. But nothing Irv did seemed to have worked in his favor being that the ultimate decision would be made by one man and one man only, Barry Weiss. Well Weiss has chosen industry veteran Joie Manda as the next President of Def Jam killing Gotti's efforts in it's tracks. So who is Joie Manda?
Mr. Manda comes to Def Jam from Warner Bros. Records, a division of Warner Music Group (WMG), where he served as head of Urban Music since September 2010 and was involved in the signing of Common, Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group (Wale, Meek Mill), Waka Flocka Flame and Jill Scott, among others. He started at WMG as Executive Vice President of Asylum Records, starting when the label was revived in 2004 and signed Paul Wall and Bun B. Mr. Manda began his career in music as an artist manager.
