Lunch with Lyor Cohen starts with a boss move. The global head of music at YouTube, formerly top man at the New York rap label Def Jam, walks briskly into Sautter, a cigar retailer based in Mount Street, Mayfair, one of the ritziest streets in London’s ritziest neighbourhood. He inclines his tall frame forwards to inspect the wares. “You’re going to take one with me,” he says as he picks out two Cuban cigars, Partagas Serie D No. 5s.
“Is he a cigar smoker?” says the woman behind the counter in a Hispanic accent. She means me and, no, I am not. “This is a very strong cigar,” she warns. “We’re starting him off at the top,” Cohen says breezily, straightening to his full height of 6ft 5in. The deal is sealed. Not untypically, it is on Cohen’s terms. I am about to take up smoking again, for the first time since quitting cigarettes 20 years ago.
The man who was once nicknamed “Mr Handle-It-Make-It-Happen” marches outside with the stogies. He has a reputation as a tough negotiator and ruthless competitor. “I’m a carnivore — I’m not a vegan. I’m a predator. But I don’t do anything illegal,” he told the FT in 2002, when asked about accusations of poaching a group from a rival label.