No I.D. has spent the last two decades producing classics alongside Common (“I Used to Love H.E.R.”), Jay-Z (“D.O.A.”), and Kanye West (“Heartless”), but you wouldn’t recognize him even if he was sitting in your studio session.

Maybe that’s because he doesn’t have a publicist and he doesn’t chase fame. Born Dion Wilson (No I.D. is an inversion of his first name), the former president of G.O.O.D. Music has been called the “Godfather of Chicago Hip-Hop” and “Kanye’s mentor”—but he never claimed those handles.

However, there is one title that he did covet: Executive Vice President of A&R at Def Jam, and last year the 40-year-old Chicago native landed his dream job at the house that Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin built.

Complex got with No I.D. to discuss what advice Jay-Z gave him about running things at Def Jam, his role in the making of Watch the Throne, and the negative impact of Nas' Illmatic.

As told to Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin)

This feature appears in Complex's February/March 2012 issue.

On His Job At Def Jam

How did you end up as the Executive Vice President of A&R at Def Jam?

I’ve done music for a while, but I was always an introvert doing music. I never had a PR person, ever. I never really did a lot of interviews. When I started working with G.O.O.D. Music, I was the president for a while.

That led me to meet Big Sean, and I developed a relationship with [Island Def Jam head of A&R] Karen Kwak and [Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Island Def Jam Music Group] L.A. Reid at the time. They got to know me and that led to them offering me a job.

What were some of those accomplishments that that made Def Jam want to hire you?

It was simple things, like being able to grab Big Sean and take him from scratch. I’m really good at taking things from scratch and helping develop them, versus chasing after the hottest thing going.

I come from an era where you just build something. Me and Common built what we built from Chicago from scratch. Then helping Kanye get to where he’s gotten. Being involved with helping extend the success of Jay-Z.

When people get to see me interact with the creative giants, they see the perspective and the respect. A lot of times, people don’t have that respect, from a music perspective, with the music people.

For example, I came in when Watch The Throne was happening. It wasn’t like I was actively working on the project, but I came in with some insight that helped bring records like “Otis,” “Made In America,” and “No Church In The Wild.”

Those were our creative discussions. Behind the scenes, you don’t see them, but when you can, it’s like, “Hey, it would be a good idea if we do this with a lot of artists. Let him have this position.”

Was that in the plan for you to be at Def Jam?

Absolutely. Once I was starting the Big Sean album last year, I did make the statement, like, “You know what? I’m gonna do this. I’m gonna go in here and talk to L.A. [Reid] and I’m gonna work for them.” It was a short-term plan.

But then L.A. Reid left. That kind of led to me being torn between going where he was going and going to Def Jam with Karen Kwak, who kind of was the person standing by my side during that process.

Long story short, I had a meaning with L.A., and I told him ‘I want to learn from you because I feel like I’m you. You’re a producer who worked with Babyface. I’m a producer and worked with Kanye. I’m trying to transfer into this executive place. You’ve done what I’m trying to do.’

This is what I mean about finding ways to not be satisfied with the simple things that our generation acts like is the pinnacle of success. I’m looking at people who have real success and longevity. They’re gonna have something for their children when they’re gone. They’re gonna have enough time to spend with their children.

It’s so hard to get everything, but I want it all. I know it’s a 40-year process, not a four-year process. You can make $100 million in four years, and don’t have it in 10 years. We’ve seen it.

What did L.A. tell you?

What it led to was a situation where I was actually gonna go work with him at Epic. It ended up that Karen and [Island Def Jam CEO] Barry Weiss believed in and invested more into me. It kind of outweighed that relationship that I was trying to build with L.A.

I asked Jay-Z one day what he thought I should do, and he told me, “Bet on yourself. Don’t bet on someone else.” Those words were the words that made me know I’m gonna do what I’m supposed to do and build my legacy, whatever that is—be it big or small. I got this far not depending on anyone. I got to go further depending on myself.

What did you learn in your tenure as the president of G.O.O.D. Music?

Sometimes those titles are glorified. I can’t even say that things were set up so that it could really be constructive in that sense. I think it was more-so Kanye needed a break, and I was a competent guy that everybody could talk to and respect. I said, “Okay, cool. Take a break. Let me see what I can do.”

I tried to bring a business structure. The first thing I did was figure out who’s actually signed. I said, “Who’s signed? Okay, Big Sean is signed. Who’s what?” It led to me putting a lot of effort into Sean and Common, which as a producer, is something I would have done anyway. Working there gave me the authority to exercise those relationships without feeling like I’m stepping on toes.