DEF JAM RECORDS

"Russell Simmons"

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.  Its success and influence on music and popular culture are paralleled only by Motown Records in the 1960s and 1970s.

"Rick Rubin"

Russell Simmons founded a production company called "Rush Productions" in the early 1980s which housed Run-D.M.C. and Kurtis Blow.  In 1984 Simmons met Rick Rubin, a rap and rock producer who was then attending New York University.   The two met in Rubin’s dormitory room where Def Jam Records was born. 




The first single released by Def Jam was "I Need a Beat," by teenage rapper LL Cool J. This single was shortly followed by another single "Rock Hard," by the Beastie Boys. 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. 

LL COOL J - I NEED A BEAT

When Rick Rubin left Def Jam in 1988 to form his own label, Russell Simmons became the head of the company.  Def Jam continued to expand in the early 1990s, attracting a new generation of rap artists such as West Coast producer/rapper Warren G. In 1999 Simmons sold his controlling interest in Def Jam to Universal Music for $100 million dollars.



Def 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. 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.
 

DMX

FIRST DEF JAM ARTISTS

1.  3rd Bass
2. Beastie Boys
3. BG knocc out and Dresta
4. Cam`ron
5. Capone
6. Comp
7. Cru
8. DMX
9. Jazzy Jay
10. Jimmy Spicer
11. MC Serch
12. Public Enemy
13. Sisqo
14. The Suburban Boyz
15. Warren G

RAP ORIGINS

Rap is a type of rhythmic recitation of rhymes, words and poetry. It began in the Latino and black neighborhoods of New York in 1970 (Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens). It is one of the four brenchs of hip-hop culture, and there is a continous conffusion to call it: hip-hop. Although it can be interpreted a capella, rap is usually accompanied by a rhythmic background music jam. Rap performers are the MC, abbreviation for "Master of Ceremonies."

 

The English term MC stands for Master of Ceremonies (Mc) was the name given to the people who was in charge of entertain the crowds at parties where the music was played by a DJ. Now in time, MC is  used to refer to rap music and vocalists, and also, other genres such as reggae, house, eurodance and Brazilian funk. The term was first used in the early 1980's when the DJ started performing like entertainers at parties in which they participated. One of the first songs that popularized this word is Suckers MC's by Run DMC, theme launched in 1983

Musically, while the hip hop itself comes from the religious music of black origin and it is related in a big way with the funk and disco, rap breaks this tendency and it is closer to breakdance, taking their own language and this language is based on a rebellious attitude, a clear tendency of anti-system. But like any artistic expression is very complex to stop or freeze. Thus, the rappers of the 70 resulted in a more metaphorical and complex expression of the lyric from the 80,  which in turn was reflected in the rates and bases used music.