“Def Jam tells you who I am
-Chuck D “Rebel Without A Pause”
It’s hard to imagine that Def Jam is nearing thirty –a milestone for any business and one even more exceptional in the world of Hip Hop. The storied label, founded in 1984 by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, has become the stuff of legends and fuel for entrepreneurs the world over. We know about early days of Rick running the operations from his NYU dorm room and Russell’s connections to everything that was exciting and fresh in New York City culture. With many fans lack of knowledge –or apathy- in respect to Hip Hop history, no producer, artist, or company can rest on past laurels and expect to succeed in the present, with your vision solely rooted in the past.
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Def Jam knows this, and they’ve always known this. When the early 1990s hit, the label was struggling to find its way as artists like LL Cool J, Slick Rick, and Public Enemy were experiencing dips in their popularity. The label battled with its identity as myriad of subsidiary labels and new trends were attempted with only nominal success. Def Jam seemed to founder and it appeared like the beacon of Hip Hop music, the label every artist wanted to be a part of, was on its last legs.
Like a crafty, veteran fighter, the label showed its resiliency and put its stamp back on the music with Redman and Method Man shoring up the streets in the mid-‘90s and DMX, Ja Rule, and, of course, Mr. Shawn Carter catapulting the label just a few years later to popularity -and sales- not seen since a decade prior. The sound captured the hard, in-your-face element as well as the smoother, more radio-accessible tendencies; but, the music was nonetheless a ubiquitous soundtrack for almost any fan during this stretch whether your radio was turned on or not.
With Jay as the only remaining artist of the aforementioned at the label, Def Jam has undoubtedly gone through its internal growing pains –corporate and musically- to resurface as the dominant powerhouse that it has always been. The roster reads like a literal “Who’s Who” in Hip Hop and R&B –Kanye West, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Rihanna, Nas, Ludacris, and 2Chainz. The sound dominants the culture –and the radio- like they’ve never done before. The summer of 2012 provided a microcosmic view of the dominance with Nas, 2Chainz, Rick Ross, and Kanye all releasing projects and no other label rivaling their chart dominance.
Looking back to the first ten years at Def Jam, it’s almost incomprehensible that their roster had fight for a couple of spins at radio. Times have changed and now radio has no choice but to play Def Jam. So, to say that Def Jam is back is more than justifiable. They return to claim their rightful place in the world of Hip Hop and R&B. Other labels and conglomerates still compete, putting out ancillary products with music almost taking a back seat; they exist merely in label’s shadow, struggling to find a little island in the sea of Def Jam.
Much respect to Barry Weiss, Steve Bartels, Joie Manda, Shawn Costner, Sha Money XL and everyone over the years that helped make Def Jam a success. Also, congratulations to Public Enemy on their nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [Allindstrom]
