Who are Def Jam Recording?

Def Jam recordings (also known as DJR), is a relatively new and modern American based music label which has in its
30 years recruit some of the most influential Hip-Hop and RNB artists of our time including from LL Cool J and the
Beastie Boys to Rhianna, Kanye West and Jay-Z as well as dozens more which have helped make Def Jam
Recordings the ultimate destination for urban artists around the world. Def Jam Records is part of the UMG
(universal music group) conglomerate, meaning that its owned by the most successful and largest music label in the
world and it operates as The Island Def Jam Records Music Group. It was founded in 1983 by Rick Rubin and
Russell Simmons.

What do they do?
Def Jam recording is part of UMG (Universal Music Group), which is the largest music label in the world. Def Jam
focuses on producing music videos with an urban vibe to them. Def Jam excels in promoting urban artists and
making them very influential in the music industry they model their artists to a certain image in order to make them
that much more popular.
They also look at launching the careers of contemporary R&B artists by searching for artists who are not well known
but talented. Some of the artists careers theyve launched include; Rihanna,
Ne-Yo and Jay-Z and many more.


How
successful is Def Jam recordings?
-A Major Music Label
Rick Rubin
Born: March 10
th
1963
Rick Rubin is an American
record producer and former
co-president of Columbia
Records. Along with Russell
Simmons, Rubin is the
founder of Def Jam Records
and also established
American Recordings. With
the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J,
Public Enemy and Run
D.M.C., Rubin helped
popularize hip hop music.
Russell Simmons
Born: October 4
th
1957
Russell Simmons is an
American business
magnate. He co-founded
the hip hop music label Def
Jam

and created the
clothing fashion lines Phat
Farm, Argyleculture, and
American Classics. Simmons
has been described as the
third richest figure in hip
hop, having a net-worth
estimate of $340 million in
2011.
Its hard to believe it was 30 years ago when we first put the Def Jam logo on a hip-hop recording at NYU dormitory.
Since that time we have seen this homegrown American music grow from a local underground scene to a worldwide
phenomenon. Today Def Jam remains the gold standard for taste culture, and revolutionary thought. To quote the
Chuck D line: Def Jam tells you who I am Rick Rubin & Russell Simmons (founders of Def Jam Recordings).
Def Jam achieved one of their biggest successes of the decade in 1980- and became the subject of a great of
controversy - when they signed Public Enemy at the end of the decade.
- http://musicians.about.com/od/majorlabels/p/defjamrecords.htm

Def Jam, operates several top notch recording labels offering a variety of musical styles, from rap to R&B to hard
rock. Its brother company, Island Records imprint trolls the waters of adult contemporary and alternative rock with
such artists as Lionel Richie, Melissa Etheridge, The Killers, and PJ Harvey. Def Jam Recordings helms albums from
top rap and R&B artists, including Kanye West, Rihanna, LL Cool J, and Method Man. The business also oversees
smaller imprints such as Def Soul, Lost Highway, and Roc-A-Fella Records. Island Def Jam is division of recording
industry giant Universal Music Group.
How do they use music videos?
I have looked in to and researched several music videos by artists who are signed to Def Jam Records such as Nicki
Minaj, Iggy Azalea , Kanye West as well as Jay-Z and they all have a theme in the music videos and they all have a
similar style as they are all fairly urban/grungy, they are different in comparison to music videos by artists that work
independently because the budget that Def Jam have is much larger as they are funded by Universal, this means that
small independent companies cant produce music videos as flamboyant as companies with a high budget like Def
Jam . The reason behind the music videos by Iggy Azalea , Kanye West etc being flamboyant and unusual is because
DJR have the budget to do so, it shows off the companies abilities, power and significance.
Screen Shots of music video
Iggy Azalea- Fancy
Def Jam Recordings have such a big budget that they were able to replicate the classic film Clueless
into a music video. Here you can see that the artist (Iggy Azalea) has taken the position of Claire from
the film to present to a speech just like in the film. Def Jam have used the film as a base, dressing the
artist in the same clothes and having her recreate the scene from the film in the music video. Due to
Clueless being a classic film meaning that most audience would be able to recognise it easily. This
therefore will boost views of the music video as audiences who are a fan of the classic film will also want
to look at the video in order to appreciate the likeness.
Iggy Azalea- Fancy Music Video
Clueless Film Scene