Def Jam Recordings

The New York hip-hop label born in an NYU dorm room, now part of Universal Music Group.

via Wikipedia: Def Jam Recordings · see source

Def Jam Recordings, often shortened to Def Jam, is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group and headquartered in Manhattan. Its core genres are hip-hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. Beyond New York it runs 0207 Def Jam in London, which operates through Polydor Records, and Def Jam Africa, with bases in Johannesburg and Lagos. Over four decades the label has been home to LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, DMX and Ja Rule, and it has served as the distributor for imprints such as Roc-A-Fella Records and Murder Inc. Records.

Quick Facts

Parent

Universal Music Group (1998–)
Previously
Island Records, The Island Def Jam Music Group
PolyGram (1994–1998)

Founder

Rick Rubin; Russell Simmons

Genre

Various, predominantly on hip-hop and R&B

Country

United States

Location

New York City, New York, U.S.

Facts from the source article.

Background

Rick Rubin started Def Jam from his room in Weinstein Hall at New York University; its first release was a single by his punk band Hose. Russell Simmons soon joined him. The first records to carry Def Jam catalog numbers, LL Cool J's "I Need a Beat" and the Beastie Boys' "Rock Hard", came out in 1984, and their sales won a distribution deal with CBS Records through Columbia. Simmons and Lyor Cohen later formed Rush Associated Labels to manage the growing family of spinoffs. After losing a power struggle to Cohen, who became president in 1988, Rubin left to set up Def American Recordings. By 1992 the label faced collapse, and in 1994 PolyGram bought Sony's 50% stake, bringing Def Jam alongside Island Records.