L.A. Reid knows talent

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid is credited with discovering some of music's biggest stars, both past and present. Reid is the man behind the music, but it hasn't always been that way. Reid's memoir "Sing to Me" takes us back to when he fell in love with music.

Born in Cincinnati, Reid started off as a musician but had a change of heart after reading record executive Clive Davis's first book. He says Davis had the coolest job in the world: finding and cultivating stars.

In 1989, Reid co-founded LaFace records, which lead to the signing of artists Usher, Toni Braxton, TLC, OutKast, and others.

Although Reid feels like he was born with the gift of spotting talent, he doesn't claim to be perfect. As the current chairman and CEO of Epic Records, Reid is old fashioned when it comes to signing new artists.

As far as a favorite outside of his own roster: Adele. Back in February, soul singer Jazmine Sullivan made headlines after questioning why her success has not mirrored Adele's, saying it's an injustice in how black soul artists are received.