Def Jam Records Research Paper

Def Jam Records is one of the most supreme and successful record labels in the music industry to this day. They have artists on their roster that have been on the charts for months at a time, such as Kanye West, Ludacris, Iggy Azalea, Jeremih, Justin Bieber, and a lot more. The founders of this powerhouse are Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. The idea commenced when Rubin, a college student at New York University, was sitting in his dorm room in Weinstein Hall. Russell Simmons joined Rubin shortly after they were introduced by Vincent Gallo. Finding this label was never about the money for these two, Rubin once said “I’m surprised it ended up being out jobs.” (Urban Daily) The first single that was ever released wth the Def Jam logo was a single
Other acts on the RAL roster 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 album was one of only two Def Jam releases to be distributed through Geffen Records under Warner Bros. Records as opposed to Columbia/CBS. As the decade neared to the end, Def Jam signed a group called Public Enemy, who is known for their controversial lyrics. Rapping things such as "Told the rab, get off the rag," "So-called chosen, frozen" and "Apology made to whoever pleases / Still they got me like Jesus” (Hochman). Public Enemy was seen in both distain and critically acclaimed master
This did great things for the label. This power move increased the label’s presence around the world and expanded its name. The first two artists signed were Spezializtz, and Philly MC. The headquarters were located in Berlin and opened on May 23, 2000. In addition to signing local German artists, Def Jam Germany also marketed American Artists on the roster. Just two years later in 2002, the company folded. Many of the artists were picked up by Universal, while others never got a new contract. The label wanted to continue to expand and become a world wide known label. The next venture was Def Jam Japan, founded also in 2000. This roster included AI, Teriyaki Boyz, Nitro Microphone Underground. In 2003, Def Soul was absorbed into its Def Jam parent. In 2004, Murder Inc. become the center of a money laundering investigation involving legal profits from drug trade, leading to the labels eventual release from distribution contract by 2005. Roc-A-Fella Records was sold to Def Jam in 2004, by this time it had launched the career of producer turned rapper Kanye West. Rapper DMX helped the company to achieve the success they needed. He sold millions of records and achieved high status in the rap