One of the New Yorker’s longshoremen fathers boasted to his friends that his son had “magic hearing.” He can hear your thoughts. It was true. Iovine produced some of the most memorable and iconic albums of the 1970s, early ’80s. Then he put those magical ears to work coaxing the talent that would define a generation.
After his days in the studios, Iovine got the break of his life, engineering records for artists who sound like a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee list: Lennon. Springsteen. Patti Smith. Tom Petty.
He turned that success into a bold, bold venture and set up shop in Los Angeles, where he co-founded Interscope Records. Iovine struck gold when he turned to the streets of South L.A. and the names that rang out in Compton and Long Beach – names like Snoop Dogg (then Snoop Doggy Dogg), Tupac Shakur, and the man who would go on to be his business partner and one of the most financially astute musical artists-turned-moguls of all time, Dr. Dre.
Iovine has always been a visionary in music’s future. Never more than when record labels struggled with downloadable music in 2000, an existential crisis that could have cost the industry its existence.
In 2006, he had left Interscope’s day-to-day operations and co-founded Beats with Dre. Beats was not only a headphone company, but also a music industry giant with a vast digital library. Beats was sold to Apple for $3B and the foundation of Apple Music. Jimmy Iovine was no longer an executive at the Cupertino-based tech giant.
John Janick, Iovine’s hand-picked successor to Interscope CEO, joked that Jimmy basically came out from retirement. Iovine replied, “I did, I did.”
They are at LACMA Saturday morning to discuss their latest joint project. It is a massive art-meets music project that has seen some the most sought-after visual artists reimagine the album cover of some of Interscope’s most iconic titles, including Dre’s 2001 and The Chronic, 2Pac’s “All Eyez On Me” and “Me Against the World,” Lady Gaga’s “The Fame Monster,” and U2’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind”
The exhibition, which is visually breathtaking, is a cross-disciplinary celebration of culture, the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am said to CBS News. The treatment was given to the album “The E.N.D.”
There’s also an innovative digital component. Open Snap and point your phone’s camera to the artwork. The best-known tracks of the album will automatically play on your smartphone.
Janick and Iovine followed the Interscope approach of finding the best talent and letting them have fun with it. Iovine stated to CBS News that you can’t follow a template for anything creative or else you’re dead. “You gotta let it go.”
Janick claims that the artists, who include Kehinde Wiley and Takashi Murakami in their ranks, “got it right from day one.”
Lovevine, who has been a serious collector of art for over ten years, is in agreement. He believes that the artists did some of their finest work for this project.
The exhibition space offers a glimpse into Iovine’s influence, able to mobilise 46 top artists around the globe to put on an exhibition in 11 months. It also serves as a testament to Interscope’s depth and breadth.
It’s also reviving at most a portion of this extensive list. The ultra-limited editions 100 copies of the reimagined album cover covers are already available. All proceeds go to Dre and Iovine’s foundation which is building a high-tech high school in South LA.
