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===Founding and CBS Records Group era (1983–1994)=== ===Founding and CBS Records Group era (1983–1994)===
Def Jam was co-founded by ] in his dormitory in Weinstein Hall at ]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/magazine/02rubin.t.html?pagewanted=all|author=Herschberg, Lynn|title=The Music Man|work=]|date=September 2, 2007}}</ref> and its first release was a single by his punk-rock group ]. ], an accused sexual offender, joined Rubin shortly after they were introduced to each other, according to one story, by ].<ref>{{cite web|last=Turner |first=Edwin |url=http://biblioklept.org/2011/12/17/i-review-def-jam-25-the-overstuffed-illustrated-oral-history-of-a-record-label-that-helped-change-american-culture/ |title=I Review Def Jam 25, the Overstuffed Illustrated Oral History of a Record Label that Helped Change American Culture |publisher=Biblioklept |date=2011-12-17 |accessdate=2013-02-28}}</ref> Another cites ] as their connector.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/13/def-jam-launched-simmons-rubin|title=Def Jam Records launched by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin|work=The Guardian|date=12 June 2011}}</ref> Rubin has said he met Simmons on the TV show, "]" and recognized him then as "the face of hip hop": "He was five years older than me, and he was already established in the music business. And I had no experience whatsoever."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.npr.org/2011/10/09/141181876/rick-rubin-russell-simmons-def-jams-first-25-years|title=Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons: Def Jam's First 25 Years|publisher=NPR|date=9 October 2011}}</ref> The first single released with the Def Jam Recordings logo was ] & Jazzy Jay's "It's Yours." The first releases with Def Jam Recordings catalog numbers were ]'s "]" and the ]' "]," both in 1984. The singles sold well, eventually leading to a distribution deal with ] through ] the following year. This created a short-lived subsidiary label called '''OBR Records''', short for '''Original Black Recordings''', catered toward R&B artists—the first artist signed to that imprint was ], who enjoyed success with his hit single "The Rain". A few years later, Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen started an umbrella label called '''Rush Associated Labels''' to handle Def Jam and its numerous spinoff labels. RAL became the home to ] and ] after both acts were acquired due to the folding of their former label ].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Moore |first1=Maurice |title=Indianapolis: CRUSH Ent Presents: EPMD & DJ Scratch @ The Vogue |url=http://bestevents.us/indianapolis-crush-ent-presents-epmd-amp-dj-scratch-the/418969 |website=bestevents.us |publisher=Best Events |accessdate=2015-07-02 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703034718/http://bestevents.us/indianapolis-crush-ent-presents-epmd-amp-dj-scratch-the/418969 |archivedate=2015-07-03}}</ref> Other acts under the RAL umbrella included ], ], ], ], ] and ]. Def Jam also signed its first and only ] band, ], in 1986, and the band's ] and ] albums were the only two Def Jam releases to be distributed through ] under ] as opposed to Columbia/CBS. As the decade drew to a close, the label signed ], whose controversial lyrical content garnered the company both critical acclaim and disdain. ] became president of Def Jam/RAL in 1988, after winning a power struggle with Rubin, who would shortly thereafter leave the company to form ]. Rubin would take ] with him to Def American in its initial stages. Def Jam was co-founded by ] in his dormitory in Weinstein Hall at ]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/magazine/02rubin.t.html?pagewanted=all|author=Herschberg, Lynn|title=The Music Man|work=]|date=September 2, 2007}}</ref> and its first release was a single by his punk-rock group ]. ] joined Rubin shortly after they were introduced to each other, according to one story, by ].<ref>{{cite web|last=Turner |first=Edwin |url=http://biblioklept.org/2011/12/17/i-review-def-jam-25-the-overstuffed-illustrated-oral-history-of-a-record-label-that-helped-change-american-culture/ |title=I Review Def Jam 25, the Overstuffed Illustrated Oral History of a Record Label that Helped Change American Culture |publisher=Biblioklept |date=2011-12-17 |accessdate=2013-02-28}}</ref> Another cites ] as their connector.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/13/def-jam-launched-simmons-rubin|title=Def Jam Records launched by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin|work=The Guardian|date=12 June 2011}}</ref> Rubin has said he met Simmons on the TV show, "]" and recognized him then as "the face of hip hop": "He was five years older than me, and he was already established in the music business. And I had no experience whatsoever."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.npr.org/2011/10/09/141181876/rick-rubin-russell-simmons-def-jams-first-25-years|title=Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons: Def Jam's First 25 Years|publisher=NPR|date=9 October 2011}}</ref> The first single released with the Def Jam Recordings logo was ] & Jazzy Jay's "It's Yours." The first releases with Def Jam Recordings catalog numbers were ]'s "]" and the ]' "]," both in 1984. The singles sold well, eventually leading to a distribution deal with ] through ] the following year. This created a short-lived subsidiary label called '''OBR Records''', short for '''Original Black Recordings''', catered toward R&B artists—the first artist signed to that imprint was ], who enjoyed success with his hit single "The Rain". A few years later, Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen started an umbrella label called '''Rush Associated Labels''' to handle Def Jam and its numerous spinoff labels. RAL became the home to ] and ] after both acts were acquired due to the folding of their former label ].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Moore |first1=Maurice |title=Indianapolis: CRUSH Ent Presents: EPMD & DJ Scratch @ The Vogue |url=http://bestevents.us/indianapolis-crush-ent-presents-epmd-amp-dj-scratch-the/418969 |website=bestevents.us |publisher=Best Events |accessdate=2015-07-02 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703034718/http://bestevents.us/indianapolis-crush-ent-presents-epmd-amp-dj-scratch-the/418969 |archivedate=2015-07-03}}</ref> Other acts under the RAL umbrella included ], ], ], ], ] and ]. Def Jam also signed its first and only ] band, ], in 1986, and the band's ] and ] albums were the only two Def Jam releases to be distributed through ] under ] as opposed to Columbia/CBS. As the decade drew to a close, the label signed ], whose controversial lyrical content garnered the company both critical acclaim and disdain. ] became president of Def Jam/RAL in 1988, after winning a power struggle with Rubin, who would shortly thereafter leave the company to form ]. Rubin would take ] with him to Def American in its initial stages.


===PolyGram era (1994–1998)=== ===PolyGram era (1994–1998)===

Revision as of 07:16, 14 December 2017

Not to be confused with Deaf Jam or Def Poetry Jam. Record label
Def Jam Recordings
Parent companyUniversal Music Group
Founded1984; 40 years ago (1984)
Founder
Distributor(s)
GenreVarious
Country of originUnited States
LocationNew York City, New York, U.S.
Official websitedefjam.com

Def Jam Recordings is an American record label focused predominantly on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). In the UK, the label takes on the name Def Jam UK and is operated through Virgin EMI Records, while in Japan, it is known as Def Jam Japan, operating through Universal Music Japan. The label distributes releases of various record labels, including Kanye West's GOOD Music, and ARTium Recordings, headed by Def Jam's former executive vice president, No I.D.. Current artists include Iggy Azalea, Logic, Big Sean, Kanye West, Leona Lewis, 2 Chainz, Axwell Λ Ingrosso, Mother Mother, Afrojack, Jeezy, Jeremih, Ludacris, Alesso, Pusha T, Vince Staples, Desiigner and Jhené Aiko among others.

Company history

Founding and CBS Records Group era (1983–1994)

Def Jam was co-founded by Rick Rubin in his dormitory in Weinstein Hall at New York University and its first release was a single by his punk-rock group Hose. Russell Simmons joined Rubin shortly after they were introduced to each other, according to one story, by Vincent Gallo. Another cites DJ Jazzy Jay as their connector. Rubin has said he met Simmons on the TV show, "Graffiti Rock" and recognized him then as "the face of hip hop": "He was five years older than me, and he was already established in the music business. And I had no experience whatsoever." The first single released with the Def Jam Recordings logo was T La Rock & Jazzy Jay's "It's Yours." The first releases with Def Jam Recordings catalog numbers were LL Cool J's "I Need a Beat" and the Beastie Boys' "Rock Hard," both in 1984. The singles sold well, eventually leading to a distribution deal with CBS Records through Columbia Records the following year. This created a short-lived subsidiary label called OBR Records, short for Original Black Recordings, catered toward R&B artists—the first artist signed to that imprint was Oran "Juice" Jones, who enjoyed success with his hit single "The Rain". A few years later, Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen started an umbrella label called Rush Associated Labels to handle Def Jam and its numerous spinoff labels. RAL became the home to Nice & Smooth and EPMD after both acts were acquired due to the folding of their former label Sleeping Bag Records. Other acts under the RAL umbrella included Redman, Onyx, Flatlinerz, Domino, Warren G and Jayo Felony. Def Jam also signed its first and only thrash metal band, Slayer, in 1986, and the band's third and fourth albums were the only two Def Jam releases to be distributed through Geffen Records under Warner Bros. Records as opposed to Columbia/CBS. As the decade drew to a close, the label signed Public Enemy, whose controversial lyrical content garnered the company both critical acclaim and disdain. Lyor Cohen became president of Def Jam/RAL in 1988, after winning a power struggle with Rubin, who would shortly thereafter leave the company to form Def American Recordings. Rubin would take Slayer with him to Def American in its initial stages.

PolyGram era (1994–1998)

By 1992, despite recent multi-platinum selling releases from Public Enemy, and EPMD, Def Jam ran into severe financial troubles and was faced with folding. However, in 1994, PolyGram purchased Sony's 50% stake in Def Jam Recordings—subsequently bringing the label into its fold. Following PolyGram's purchase, Def Jam distributed the Violator Records-signed artist Warren G's Regulate... G Funk Era album, which went triple platinum and brought much-needed revenue to Def Jam through its distribution deal with Violator.

PolyGram acquired an additional 10% in Def Jam Recordings in 1996, further strengthening its ownership of Def Jam. Shortly thereafter, Rush Associated Labels was renamed Def Jam Music Group. The label remained profitable as its veteran star LL Cool J released his successful album Mr. Smith in 1995. The label later signed Foxy Brown, whose debut album Ill Na Na became a platinum seller in 1997.

The Island Def Jam Music Group founding (1998–2000)

In 1998, PolyGram was purchased by Seagram and merged with the MCA family of labels, which became Universal Music Group. It then purchased the remaining interest of Def Jam Recordings from Russell Simmons for a reported $100 million. UMG merged 14+ record labels including: Def Jam, Island Records and Mercury Records to form The Island Def Jam Music Group. Despite the formation of IDJMG, the Def Jam, Mercury, and Island labels (among others) continued to operate as separate imprints underneath the bigger umbrella.

Lyor Cohen was appointed co-president of IDJMG, and Kevin Liles succeeded him as president of Def Jam. In 1999, IDJMG created a R&B spin-off label called Def Soul Recordings to run alongside Def Jam Recordings, which inherited many of Island Records' urban artists (and also some from Mercury Records), including Dru Hill and its lead singer Sisqó, the Isley Brothers and Kelly Price. Def Soul also issued recordings by Musiq, Montell Jordan, Case, 112, Patti LaBelle, and Christina Milian. Island's 4th & B'way Records was also folded into Def Jam. Kevin Liles also served as President of Def Soul Records.

Also in 1999, the label began to distribute releases by Murder Inc. Records, run by former Def Jam executive Irv Gotti. Murder Inc.'s roster of artists would include Ja Rule, Ashanti, Lloyd, Vita. The following year, it launched another subsidiary, Def Jam South, which focused on Southern rap and distributed releases from labels such as Disturbing tha Peace, whose artists have included Ludacris, Chingy, and Bobby Valentino. Russell Simmons tapped Texas-born and raised rap legend Scarface (a.k.a. Brad Jordan) as the original head of Def Jam South. After about a 4-year run at Def Jam South, Scarface negotiated a release from the company in 2003.

In 2014, Universal Music Group announced that The Island Def Jam Music Group would end operations, and the assets would be separated into three different entities: Def Jam Recordings, Island Records, and Motown Records. The Mercury Records label has been dormant since IDJMG was dismantled.

2000s

In 2000, The Island Def Jam Music Group announced the formation of Def Jam Germany, the first international Def Jam company. This increased the label's presence around the world. Def Jam Germany signed German rappers Spezializtz and Philly MC. The label was located in Berlin and opened on May 23, 2000. In addition to signing and marketing local artists, Def Jam Germany also marketed all U.S. signed Def Jam artists in the German territory. But the German division folded just two years later in 2002. Many of the artists were picked up by Universal/Urban, while others did not get a new contract.

The second international label is a Japanese branch, Def Jam Japan (デフ・ジャム・ジャパン, Defu Jamu Japan), also founded in 2000. Their artist roster has included AI, Teriyaki Boyz, Nitro Microphone Underground, and South Korean boy band BTS.

In 2003, Murder Inc. became the center of a money laundering investigation involving illegal profits from drug trade, leading to the label's eventual release from its distribution contract by 2005. The final shares of Roc-A-Fella Records were sold to The Island Def Jam Music Group in 2004, by which time it had launched the career of producer-turned-rapper Kanye West.

In 2004, Cohen left IDJMG for Warner Music Group, and was replaced by former Arista-now Epic executive L.A. Reid. An unhappy Liles eventually decided to follow Cohen to Warner. A bidding war for Jay-Z's contract began, and Reid appointed Jay-Z president of Def Jam.

Under Jay-Z's leadership, Def Jam launched the successful careers of contemporary R&B singers Rihanna and Ne-Yo. At the end of 2007, Jay-Z decided not to renew his contract as the President and CEO of Def Jam in order to start his new venture, Roc Nation. Following Jay-Z's departure, L.A. Reid took over leadership of the label, as opposed to hiring a replacement. In June 2008, Shakir Stewart was appointed as Executive Vice President of Def Jam, a position that was previously left vacant since December 2007.

2010s

In March 2012, it was announced that former Warner Bros. Records executive Joie Manda would become the first president of Def Jam since Jay-Z. Until March 2013 when he exited his post at Def Jam and it was announced he'd be heading up the urban division of Interscope Records by his former boss, Barry Weiss. The-Dream served as Def Jam's executive vice president between 2012 and 2014. No I.D. upholds the position of executive vice president after helping to establish GOOD Music with Kanye West; Steve Bartels is the current CEO of Def Jam.

On April 1, 2014, it was announced that Island Def Jam would no longer be active following the resignation of CEO Barry Weiss. A press release serviced by Universal Music Group stated that IDJMG, and all of its assets would be reorganized into Def Jam Recordings, Island Records and Motown Records, all as separate entities.

Def Jam Recordings operates as a stand-alone label within Universal Music Group. Steve Bartels serves a time as President/CEO of Def Jam Recording till it was announced on August 3, 2017, that as of January 2018, Eminem's longtime manager and co-founder of Shady Records, Paul Rosenberg has been appointed the new President/CEO of Def Jam Recordings.

Notable current artists

References

  1. Breihan, Tom. "Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music Signs With Def Jam". pitchfork.com. Pitchfork. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  2. "Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music Signs Worldwide Deal With Island Def Jam". billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  3. Herschberg, Lynn (September 2, 2007). "The Music Man". New York Times Magazine.
  4. Turner, Edwin (2011-12-17). "I Review Def Jam 25, the Overstuffed Illustrated Oral History of a Record Label that Helped Change American Culture". Biblioklept. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
  5. "Def Jam Records launched by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin". The Guardian. 12 June 2011.
  6. "Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons: Def Jam's First 25 Years". NPR. 9 October 2011.
  7. Moore, Maurice. "Indianapolis: CRUSH Ent Presents: EPMD & DJ Scratch @ The Vogue". bestevents.us. Best Events. Archived from the original on 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2015-07-02. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. "PolyGram acquires 50% of Def Jam". Business Wire. 1994-11-16. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  9. "Hiphop Geschichte des Labels DefJam". netzfeuilleton.de. 2014-11-10. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  10. "Def Jam Japan (A Universal Music Company)". Universal-music.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2011-08-05. Retrieved 2011-08-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. "Hip-Hop's Irv 'Gotti' Surrenders to FBI - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment". FOXNews.com. 2005-01-27. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  12. ^ Ogunnaike, Lola (Aug. 28, 2005). "Jay-Z, From Superstar to Suit". New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  13. Reid, Shaheem (2007-12-24). "Jay-Z Stepping Down As Def Jam President/CEO". MTV News. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  14. Markman, Rob (2012-03-12). "Def Jam Names Joie Manda New President". MTV.com. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  15. Aswad, Jem (March 28, 2013). "Joie Manda Resigns as Def Jam President, Moving to Interscope". Billboard.
  16. pologod. "No I.D. Is The New Executive Vice President Of Def Jam Recordings". The Source.
  17. miranda (1 April 2014). "Island Def Jam Is Over". XXL Mag.
  18. "Eminem's Manager Paul Rosenberg Named New CEO of Def Jam". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  19. Caramanica, Jon (19 May 2015). "Alessia Cara Speaks Up for the Outsiders on 'Here'". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |accessdatej= ignored (help)
  20. "MTV Jams' Fab 5 List: Spotlight On August Alsina". MTV. 2013-07-24. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
  21. "Axwell Λ Ingrosso Sign To Def Jam Recordings Def Jam". Def Jam. 2014-09-19. Archived from the original on 2014-11-26. Retrieved 2017-05-02. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  22. Common (2014-06-04). "Common Signs To No I.D.'s Artium/Def Jam Recordings". Def Jam. Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  23. Conway (2017-09-08). "CONWAY THE MACHINE SPEAKS ON SHADY DEAL AND REVEALS DETAILS ABOUT 'G.O.A.T.'". Mass Appeal. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  24. Elijah Blake (2013-05-15). "Elijah Blake". Def Jam. Retrieved 2013-11-08.

External links

Def Jam Recordings
Founders
Subsidiaries
Def Jam Recordings
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Vivendi
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