Positive K Says Def Jam President Lyor Cohen Nearly Passed On Signing Redman

BYCole Blake2.4K Views
Link Copied to Clipboard!
Brendon Thorne / Getty Images
Positive K, Redman
Positive K says he helped influence Def Jam President Lyor Cohen into signing Redman.

Positive K says that he's the reason Lyor Cohen signed Redman to Def Jam back in the 1990s. Speaking with HipHopDX for a recent interview, Positive K recalled how the rapper ended up on the label.

“I’m the one who got Redman signed and you can talk to Redman about that,” Positive K told the outlet. “Lyor wasn’t going to sign Redman. Erick Sermon got me on the phone with Lyor Cohen and said, ‘Yo, tell him about Redman.’ I said, ‘Lyor, if you have any brains in your head, you’re signing this guy.’ I rolled a blunt, played the demo and I was riding it around and I was the one who was messing with Lyor Cohen and Erick Sermon with that."

Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images

He continued: “I spoke to Redman. He was at MC Lyte’s house. They were going over some scripts and I spoke to him. He said, ‘I remember. I remember.’ Redman knows what time it is. I’m the muscle man.”

Positive K went on to say he played a role in the signing of Method Man as well.

Cohen has previously credited Redman with saving the now-iconic record label.

Positive K is best known for his 1989 collaboration with MC Lyte “I’m Not Havin’ It” and the 1992 hit “I Got A Man,” as well as having toured with Jay-Z. He recently shared a new single out titled “Nobody" and is touring the U.S. for his comedy routine.

[Via]


About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.
...