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. In 1999 Simmons sold his controlling interest in Def Jam to Universal Music for $100 million dollars.ĭef 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. Simmons net worth was estimated at 340 million in 2011. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris.

Its success and influence on music and popular culture are paralleled only by Motown Records in the 1960s and 1970s. Def Jam continued to expand in the early 1990s, attracting a new generation of rap artists such as West Coast producer/rapper Warren G. Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, writer, and film producer. 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. When Rick Rubin left Def Jam in 1988 to form his own label, Russell Simmons became the head of the company. Def Jam increased its appeal to young music listeners and found new audiences by incorporating heavy metal and rock music into rap music.ĭef Jam also expanded into motion pictures when it released the semi-biographical film Krush Groove in 1985 and the Run D.M.C. 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.ĭef Jam early artists such as Public Enemy were aggressive and confrontational and their music reflected that style. This single was shortly followed by another single, “Rock Hard” by the Beastie Boys. The first single released by Def Jam was “I Need a Beat” by teenage rapper LL Cool J. The two met in Rubin’s dormitory room where Def Jam Records was born. record producer, and label owner, Simmons also added business magnate and. by this continually evolving company is the cultural impact of the songs. In 1984 Simmons met Rick Rubin, a rap and rock producer who was then attending New York University. Co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, Russell Simmons ignited the hip-hop. Def Jam Recordings has been the preeminent hip-hop label for the better part. Russell Simmons founded a production company called Rush Productions in the early 1980s which housed Run-D.M.C. 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.

Who owns def jam records