L. A. Reid, after leaving high school to pursue a career in music, found success with his R&B group, Deele. After the group disbanded, he and his ex-bandmate Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds co-founded LaFace Records with Arista Records. As the head of LaFace, Reid broke ground for African American pop artists and helped establish the now-famous music scene in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2004, he became the chairman and CEO of The Island Def Jam Group, and in 2011, he signed on as CEO and chairman of Epic Records and as a judge on The X Factor.