is an
American based
Hip-hop Record Label , owned by
Universal Music Group , and operates as a part of
The Island Def Jam Music Group .
Def Jam was founded by
Rick Rubin in his dorm room at
New York University .Herschberg, Lynn. The Music Man. New York Times Magazine. 2 September 2007.
Russell Simmons joined Rubin shortly after when they were introduced to each other by
Vincent Gallo . The first releases on Def Jam Recordings 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' (which would later become Sony Music Entertainment)
Columbia Records the following year. The first full-length album released by Def Jam Recordings was LL Cool J’s
''Radio'' in December of
1985 . The following year, Def Jam created a short-lived subsidiary label called ''
OBR Records '', 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.” 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 in
1988 , after winning a power struggle with Rubin, who would shortly thereafter leave the company to form Def American Recordings (now known as
American Recordings ).
In the early
1990s , the company created ''“Rush Associated Labels”'', a larger moniker under which Def Jam and its various auxiliary labels would operate as subsidiaries. By
1992 , despite recent multi-platinum selling releases from LL Cool J., Public Enemy, and
EPMD , Def Jam ran into severe financial troubles and was faced with folding. Salvation came in
1994 , however, when
PolyGram purchased Sony’s 50% stake in Def Jam Recordings—subsequently bringing the label into their fold. Following PolyGram’s acquisition of the company, Def Jam released
Warren G 's ''
Regulate...G Funk Era '', which went triple platinum and effectively revived the label.
Def Jam remained in the black, as its veteran star LL Cool J released his widely successful album ''
Mr. Smith '' in
1995 . The label later signed a then-teenaged
Foxy Brown , whose debut album ''
Ill Na Na '' became a platinum seller in 1997. The same year, Def Jam struck up a distribution deal with
Damon Dash’s Roc-A-Fella Records , and soared to even greater heights with rapper
Jay-Z as its central star as the decade drew to a close. PolyGram acquired an additional 10% in Def Jam Recordings in
1996 , further strengthening their ownership of the company. Shortly thereafter, “Rush Associated Labels” was renamed “Def Jam Music Group.”
In ,
Sisqo ,
The Isley Brothers and
Kelly Price . Def Soul also issued recordings by
Musiq ,
Montell Jordan ,
Case ,
112 ,
Patti LaBelle , and
Christina Milian . In
2002 , Def Soul was absorbed into its Def Jam parent.
Today and remains in that position as of Summer
2007 .
