Def Jam Records- The Proud Owners of Hip-Hop

Def Jam records was originally founded by Rick Rubin and joined by Russell Simmons shortly after. It was founded in 1984. It's first artists to release records were the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J. From then on, Def Jam has sky rocketed and dominated the Hip Hop market earning itself the best reputation in the industry. In the present day, Def Jam also owns other huge record labels such as Rocafella, which in affect results to them owning over 50% of the market.However, this hasn't happened overnight as over the years Def Jam have had an oray of different recoed labels under their belt. Here are some of the ventures that Def Jam have come across over the years: CBS records, Columbia records, OBR records and the recent being Roc-A-Fella...Power shifted at the top of def jam as the years went on as Rick Rubin left the head of Def Jam and popular rapper and business man Jay-Z has become the present CEO.