Former Def Jam executive Kevin Liles took to social media on Tuesday to deny sexual assault allegations brought against him by the label’s former signee, Lady Luck.
Liles, 57, in his lengthy statement on Instagram also claimed that Lady Luck, whose real name is Shanell Ayana Jones, and her lawyers were trying to extort $30 million from him. The New Jersey rapper was just 17 when she inked a deal with Def Jam.
“Three weeks ago, I received a letter from former Def Jam artist, Shanell Jones (a.k.a Lady Luck) and her legal team, threatening to publish a book and file a public lawsuit riddled with utterly false and horrendous accusations if I didn’t pay them $30 million dollars,” Liles wrote.
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“Ms. Jones threatened to allege that, almost 26 years ago when signed as a recording artist to Def Jam, she was ‘groomed.’ Ms. Jones also threatened to allege that I exposed myself to her and pushed her head towards my genitalia in an attempt to force her to perform oral sex while she was allegedly sitting in the driver’s seat of my car.”
Liles in his statement claimed that “none of this ever happened.” “Her threatened allegations are totally false. And they are contradicted by Ms. Jones’s many public statements about me and her experience at Def Jam. They are also at odds with her continued outreach and relationship with both my family and me for the past 26 years,” he said.
Liles also described her story as a “fabrication,” adding that “rather than pay her and her legal team, I am publicly addressing what I view to be an extortion attempt.”
“It seems Ms. Jones hopes to leverage the current news environment to pressure me into writing an exorbitant check in order to avoid the negative publicity that will likely result from her false claims. I intend to vigorously fight any complaint she may file and will take whatever legal action is necessary against her and the attorneys who have participated in this attempted shakedown.”
Liles in his statement also touched on how he signed Lady Luck, 42, in 1999 after hearing her rap on Hot 97.
“As I have always done, I gave a talented young artist an opportunity with a lucrative deal, access to recording studios, and introductions to the most popular hip- hop artists of the time,” Liles said before touching on some hit songs she featured on after she was signed.
Liles said that Lady Luck had previously spoken very highly of him and the efforts he put in to propel her career. “Unfortunately, Ms. Jones’s career never reached the heights she or I hoped for and she asked to be released from her contract with Def Jam a few years later,” he stated. “In many interviews, she has blamed many people for her failure to become a household name.”
Liles stated that Lady Luck “regrettably turned to a life of crime” after she left Def Jam. Despite that, Liles claimed he never stopped helping the rapper as he even did so when she reached out to him last year for assistance with distribution.
“After connecting her with the head of my former distribution company, she did an interview stating that I was helping her with distribution, describing it as a ‘full f**king circle’ moment. In another interview in February 2024, Ms. Jones said ‘I love Kevin Liles. I just spoke to him,’” he wrote.
Elsewhere in his statement, Liles emphasized that regardless of his “empathy” for Lady Luck, he was not going to be “extorted, nor will I pay a dollar to those that threaten to ruin my reputation or the legacy I intend to leave the culture I’ve spent my life serving.”
Liles said he will “meet the false allegations (and any frivolous lawsuit filed against me) with all the tools that the law provides.”
Liles’ comments come after a former employee brought a sexual assault lawsuit against him as well as Universal Music Group and Def Jam. He has also maintained his innocence in that case.
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