Famously founded by producer Rick Rubin while he was still a student at New York University, in the early-'80s Def Jam went from dorm-room start-up to one of hip hop's defining imprints, releasing a string of classic albums from then-unknowns such as LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.
In the foreword to coffee-table book, Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years Of The Last Great Record Label, Rubin calls the early Def Jam "a collection of outsiders", though the them-and-us mindset he pioneered in partnership with Russell Simmons shifted after Rubin left in 1988 - taking the label's token metal act, Slayer, with him. Since then, Def Jam has evolved into a global brand with outposts in Japan and Germany, while in the mid-'00s it even gained its own celebrity CEO, the cigar-toting Jay-Z bringing in a new-found swagger - and future R&B stars Rihanna and Ne-Yo. Yet even in an era when hip hop has become the mainstream, Def Jam has retained a renegade edge, recently signing Philadelphia's The Roots. It's an attitude still recalled fondly by Simmons: "[From the start] we thought we knew everything and no one else knew shit." Rupert Howe
Essential
Public Enemy
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, 1988
Era-defining statement from the Long Island collective fronted by firebrand Chuck D and clock-toting jester Flavour Flav. Powered by the Bomb Squad's cocktail of revolutionary funk breaks, it took hip hop to the world. Download: Bring The Noise
Beastie Boys
Licensed To Ill, 1986
The biggest-selling rap album of the '80s and still one of the most entertaining, Rick Rubin's Led Zep-powered production lending sonic boom to the Beasties' gleeful wise-cracks. Hip hop's answer to Never Mind The Bollocks - and then some.
Download: Rhymin' And Stealin'
Jay-Z
The Blueprint, 2001
If Def Jam's influence waned in the '90s thanks to the rise of gangsta rap, this stunning show of lyrical strength from Brooklyn's self-styled "God MC" turned the tables - with a little help from then-producer, and future Def Jam star, Kanye West.
Download: Takeover
Recommended
LL Cool J
Radio, 1985
Jay-Z was still a street hustler when LL made his - and Def Jam's - debut album, the 17-year-old rapping with startling authority over a bare-bones, boombox-friendly Rick Rubin production, which still packs a heavyweight punch.
Download: Rock The Bells
Method Man
Tical, 1994
Long a haven for maverick talents, Def Jam was an obvious fit for the Wu-Tang Clan's most charismatic voice, Meth's surreal, weed-inspired flights of fantasy backed by an intoxicating RZA-produced weave of off-kilter bass and martial arts samples.
Download: Bring The Pain
Rihanna
Good Girl Gone Bad, 2007
Signed to Def Jam in 2005 by then-president Jay-Z, Rihanna not only completed her transformation from dancehall novelty to pop diva, but pushed the label to the forefront of mainstream R&B with US and UK Number 1, Umbrella.
Download: Umbrella
For the connoisseur
Slayer
Reign In Blood, 1986
Previously a member of New York "artcore" band Hose, Rick Rubin made over Californian metal outfit Slayer as thrash punks, distilling their satanic jams into a half-hour rush of manic guitar-shredding, hyper-speed drum patterns and blood-curdling screams.
Download: Angel Of Death
Ludacris
Word Of Mouf, 2001
Initially synonymous with New York hip hop, in 1999 Def Jam set up a new imprint designed to tap into the burgeoning Southern scene, hitting paydirt with this blend of gangsta bounce and wink-wink humour from former radio DJ Chris Bridges.
Download: Area Codes
10:41 AM | 23/12/2011
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