Deluxe Records

Lore & Background

After Hamburg label Eimsbush went bankrupt in 2003, Dynamite Deluxe member Samy Deluxe founded Deluxe Records within the same year. At first, it was part of Capitol Records, owned by EMI. The first artists besides Samy Deluxe were the rap group Headliners and rapper Illo. To promote them, Samy helped launch the collective/event series Hamburgs Finest, which started online and later released the retail mixtape Hamburgs Finest Mixtape Vol. 4 - So Deluxe So Glorious. The 2005 compilation album Deluxe Records - Let's Go, along with the Let's-Go-Tour, helped introduce the label to a wider audience.

In 2006, four more artists signed: Munich rapper Ali A$, Ruhr Area artists Manuellsen and Snaga & Pillath, and Cologne rapper Blade. On February 12, 2007, an internet show called Deluxe Zoom began broadcasting live performances and backstage footage, though episodes appeared irregularly and are no longer produced. In July 2007, Deluxe Records broke away from Capitol Records/EMI and became an independent label distributed by Groove Attack, with only Samy Deluxe's albums remaining on Capitol. In December 2007, rapper TUA joined. However, Snaga & Pillath left in March 2008 due to business misunderstandings, and Manuellsen, Illo, and Blade also left in 2008. TUA left the label in 2010, and Ali A$ later departed as well, so the roster was never permanently those three.

In December 2008, they released a sampler titled Liebling, ich habe das Label geschrumpft (English: Honey, I Shrunk the Label), a parody of the film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, referencing the reduced number of signed artists.

Reader's Guide

Deluxe Records holds significance in German hip-hop as a label founded by a prominent artist, Samy Deluxe, after the collapse of Eimsbush. It served as a platform for both established and emerging artists, including Headliners, Illo, Ali A$, Manuellsen, Snaga & Pillath, Blade, and TUA. The label's transition from a major-label partnership with Capitol/EMI to independence in 2007, distributed by Groove Attack, reflects a common shift in the music industry toward artist-owned ventures. Its legacy includes the 2005 compilation Deluxe Records - Let's Go and the 2008 sampler Liebling, ich habe das Label geschrumpft, which humorously acknowledged the label's shrinking roster. Though several artists departed by 2008, the label continued with a core trio, illustrating the challenges of sustaining a label in a competitive market.

Did You Know?

• Deluxe Records was founded in 2003 after Samy Deluxe's previous label Eimsbush went bankrupt.
• The label's first artists besides Samy Deluxe were the rap group Headliners and rapper Illo.
• In July 2007, Deluxe Records broke away from Capitol Records/EMI and became independent, distributed by Groove Attack.
• The 2008 sampler Liebling, ich habe das Label geschrumpft is a parody of the film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.