It has become the sound of young America, akin to Motown in the sixties. In 1984, Def Jam introduced a new kind of music and lifestyle–hip-hop–through aspiring record producer and punk-rocker Rick Rubin and party promoter/artist manager Russell Simmons. Def Jam celebrates a label that defined hip-hop and whose impact extends beyond its incredible roster of recording artists to all areas of culture–fashion, lifestyle, cinema, art–impacting the music business and pop culture forever. This is the story of Def Jam in the words of its artists and top executives, taken from interviews and seamlessly told as a narrative of no-holds barred recollections and anecdotes, made even more compelling by the fact that Def Jam is one of the last great record labels to enjoy the widespread cultural influence that it does, in light of the increasing digitization of music. UPDATE AND REVISED to reflect 10 more years at Def Jam Recordings: In association with Def Jam, a celebration of thirty-five years of the label that defined hip-hop music and culture, in the words and photographs of its founders and artists.

Def jam recordings artists