The caption for the picture reads, “Welcome to the Def Jam Recordings is entering into an exclusive joint venture partnership with Emmy Award-winning writer, creator, producer, and actor Lena Waithe to launch Hillman Grad Records. The official Def Jam Instagram account shared a shot of the new logo for Hillman Grad Productions. Jeff Harleston and his phenomenal team at Def Jam have given us their trust and their resources to help develop artists that not only have potential but staying power. Carter was appointed by LA Reid as President of Def Jam Records in 2004. At Hillman Grad Productions we believe in identifying and amplifying new talent, and we want to continue to do that in the music industry. Type: Record Label Position: Co-founder, co-owner Operation: 1995 2013 Status: Defunct. It’s so often connected to our fondest and sometimes our darkest memories.” They can take complex emotions and simplify it in four minutes, the same artist can sing about the revolution and falling in love. And I think that’s because musicians are the storytellers we love the most. The Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam merger would prove fruitful for both corporations and ultimately led to Shawn Carter (Rapper Jay-Z) being named company CEO in 2005.Waithe shared in an official statement, “Music and storytelling have always gone hand in hand. In 1999 Simmons sold his controlling interest in Def Jam to Universal Music for $100 million dollars.ĭef Jam has continues to be a successful label in the post-Russell Simmons era, making lucrative business deals with Roc-A-Fella Records and creating subsidiaries like Def Soul Records. Def Jam continued to expand in the early 1990s, attracting a new generation of rap artists such as West Coast producer/rapper Warren G. When Rick Rubin left Def Jam in 1988 to form his own label, Russell Simmons became the head of the company. Def Jam increased its appeal to young music listeners and found new audiences by incorporating heavy metal and rock music into rap music.ĭef Jam also expanded into motion pictures when it released the semi-biographical film Krush Groove in 1985 and the Run D.M.C. The success of these two singles earned Def Jam a distribution deal with CBS Records which dramatically raised the profile of the young company in the music industry.ĭef Jam early artists such as Public Enemy were aggressive and confrontational and their music reflected that style. This single was shortly followed by another single, “Rock Hard” by the Beastie Boys. The first single released by Def Jam was “I Need a Beat” by teenage rapper LL Cool J. Russell Simmons founded a production company called Rush Productions in the early 1980s which housed Run-D.M.C. Its success and influence on music and popular culture are paralleled only by Motown Records in the 1960s and 1970s. The two met in Rubin’s dormitory room where Def Jam Records was born. Def Jam Records, created by hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons, is one of the most successful black-owned record labels in the history of the United States. In 1984 Simmons met Rick Rubin, a rap and rock producer who was then attending New York University. Universal Music Group today announced the launch of Def Jam Africa, a new label division within the continent. Def Jam Records, created by hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons, is one of the most successful black-owned record labels in the history of the United States.
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