I would like to give a special THANK-YOU to this long list of extraordinary people who are everything to me:
My dear wife Erica- you are my rock!! I love you.
My wonderful children; Antonio, Ashley, Aaron, Arianna, and Addison. The greatest kids in the world! I love you all more than life itself.
My siblings, Rosaland, Bryant, and Ivy—even while I was largely absent, you weren’t.
My aunt Katrina—you have always been my shining light.
Kenny—my brother, my friend, my partner, my truth!
Kayo—the pure essence of brotherhood
The Deele—Dee, Carlos, Stick, and Daryl—you all taught me more than you may know.
Ali Hasan—my brother from another mother . . . the true definition of an unconditional bond.
Doug Morris—you are the very best ever! Your friendship, wisdom, guidance, and support have been invaluable.
Clive Davis—an ever inspiring example.
Clarence Avant—my godfather.
Richard Johnson—decades my friend, decades.
Joel Katz—your intelligence and wisdom have guided me well my friend.
My dear friend and media guru, Laura Swanson.
The countless executives, managers and attorneys whose presence in my life made everything work.
This book would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of Jan Miller (elegance and talent together equals YOU), Nena Madonia Oshman (you made this process fun!), Jonathan Burnham, Matt Harper (you are a star), Courtney Walter (your passion is contagious), David Dalton, and my genius collaborative co-author Joel Selvin.
And a very heartfelt THANK-YOU to all the amazingly talented artists, songwriters, producers, and performers whose music is the soundtrack to my existence.
Joel Selvin needs to acknowledge: Everybody associated with LA Reid, who made this a pleasure, starting with Hope Rippere, who made everything happen. Jan Miller and especially Nena Madonia Oshman of the Dupree-Miller Agency both went above and beyond. Frank Weimann of the Literary Group, always. Carol Mastick did the excellent transcriptions. Author David Dalton did the preliminary archeology. This book would not have been what it is without the extraordinary care and attention to detail paid by editor Matt Harper at HarperCollins. Most of all, the greatest thanks go to LA Reid himself and Erica Reid, who welcomed me into their home and made me feel like family. Special thanks to Pamela Turley for everything and, as always, my darling daughter, Carla.