Biography
Born in Brooklyn in a Jewish Italian-American family, Iovine began his career as a recording engineer in the mid-1970s, working with Raspberries, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Jonathan Liberato. He went on to produce albums for U2 (Rattle & Hum), Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Stevie Nicks, Golden Earring, Simple Minds, Dire Straits, Flame (featuring Marge Raymond, Jimmy Crespo, Bob Leone, and others), and Patti Smith. Iovine established Interscope Records in 1990 with the release of Gerardo's Mo' Ritmo. It went on to become Interscope-Geffen-A&M following Universal's acquisition of PolyGram when Iovine was named co-chairman; in 2001, he became chairman.
He is credited with having given Eminem's demo tape to Dr. Dre, who signed him to his Aftermath label. In 2002, Iovine co-produced the hit Eminem movie 8 Mile and in 2004, he and Paul Rosenberg signed a first look deal with Paramount Pictures and MTV Films for their Interscope/Shady/Aftermath banner. Iovine co-produced the first film under the deal, Get Rich or Die Tryin', starring 50 Cent. In 2003, he was co-executive producer of Enrique Iglesias's album Seven. In January 2008, Iovine, Dr. Dre and Monster Cable released Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. Iovine is also an executive producer with LeBron James and Maverick Carter of the documentary More Than A Game, which was released in the fall of 2009.
Lady Gaga has thanked him several times during her acceptance speeches, as he was the one to sign her to Streamline/Interscope shortly after her 2007 performance at Lollapalooza. Eminem also has mentioned him several times during his acceptance speeches.
Bruce Springsteen's song "Ain't Good Enough For You" referenced Iovine: "And babe I tried to make the latest scene, Hip and cool, just like Jimmy Iovine."
Chief Keef's song "Kobe" referenced Iovine: "Since I signed with Jimmy Iovine, I swear I think that I'm Kobe."
Seattle hip-hop group Macklemore & Ryan Lewis released a track critical of Iovine and his Interscope connections, "Jimmy Iovine," featuring Ab-Soul, on their 2012 album The Heist.
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