Lyor Cohen Discusses DMX, Def Jam, Golden Era Of Hip-Hop & More On "Drink Champs"

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40/40 Club At Barclays Center Grand Opening
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 27: Lyor Cohen and Jay-Z attend the grand opening of the 40/40 Club at Barclays Center on September 27, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
Lyor Cohen had plenty of stories to tell on the latest episode of "Drink Champs."

N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN sat down with music industry veteran Lyor Cohen for the latest episode of Drink Champs. Among the topics the group discussed were the career of DMX, Cohen's role in the success of Def Jam, 300 Entertainment, and his work to fight cancer.

Cohen's appearance was met with ample praise from fans. "I know a lot of people don’t like Lyor, but as a hip hop fan I’ll always respect this guy for what he did for hip hop from 98-02," one user commented on the episode. "Grimey lyrical New York rap is my favourite era of Hip Hop, and that def jam roster that HE signed was everything to me."

Lyor Cohen Speaks At SXSW

AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 14: Lyor Cohen speaks onstage at the Music Keynote during S.X.S.W. At Austin Convention Center on March 14, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Sean Mathis/Getty Images for SXSW)

Another user wrote: "Leyor is def one of the top industry people around! His story is super dope!! I didnt know all this Hip Hop history about him! Salute to Drink Champs for giving the people this little peice of hip hop history and future!" Check out Cohen's appearance on Drink Champs below.

Lyor Cohen Sits Down With N.O.R.E. & DJ EFN

Cohen's appearance on Drink Champs comes as he is set to be honored at the Spirit of Life Gala, later this week. Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, Ja Rule, Memphis Bleek, Swizz Beatz, and more will be present. Chuck D said, as noted by Variety: “Lyor Cohen is a pioneer, and myself and Public Enemy have been beneficiaries of his visionary audacity. Hip Hop’s ride through the music industry has been turbulent, but together with Lyor we’ve grown with it and gone through it and organized what was necessary. Working with Lyor makes you pay attention to everything. And he’ll tell you that.” Be on the lookout for further updates from the gala on HotNewHipHop.

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About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.
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