By Jrox
Whether you love or hate record labels, they have played a huge part in music history. I remember being amazed working in the warehouse at Universal Music. The incredible catalogue of music that was under they’re distribution umbrella. Labels such as: Impulse, ECM, Rawkus, and Vagrant, to name a few. I spent countless afternoons listening to brilliant music. Artist-run labels have produced some incredible music, especially in the worlds of punk and hip-hop. Two labels that fall in the latter are Stones Throw and Definitive Jux. Both labels have released some of the most original Hip-Hop to date.
Stones Throw Records has an incredible catalogue of music and I highly recommend buying one of their compilations (Stones Throw 101, Chrome Children, etc) or checking out a podcast if you’re new to it. Here is an excerpt written by Peanut Butter Wolf (founder of Stones Throw) taken from website:
“After recording for these other labels, I realised that I was having as much fun promoting the records as recording the songs. I also became confident that I could do a good job running a label, and more importantly convinced a distibutor (Nu Gruv Alliance) that I could do it. 1996 saw the release of “My World Premier” by Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf on Stones Throw Records. The name “Stones Throw” came from a saying my mom used that Charizma and I teased her about (We were big on mom jokes). It had been three years since he died, but people still thought it was a new song. A year later, I was at KRS One’s “Step Into A World” video shoot when Kenny Parker played it. KRS was nodding his head and asked Kenny who it was and how he could get a copy. At that point, I realized another goal had been met – approval from someone who influenced us.”
Definitive Jux also came out with a devastating roster of talent and records. Founded by mad genius producer and Company Flow alumni El-P. The first round of Def Jux releases are pretty much all killer and include some of my personal favorites such as, Cannibal Ox’s The Cold Vein highwaymen divx , El-P’s Fantastic Damage, and Aesop Rock’s Labor Days ablaze dvdrip download . Here is an excerpt from the Definitive Jux site:
“Debuting in late 2000, Definitive Jux (originally called Def Jux but our friend’s at Def Jam, threatened by the Def Jux’s sudden multi-platinum success, ordered a cease and desist last fall!) quickly made an impact on the world around it. Starting with the release of the EP Def Jux Presents: Company Flow and the Enters the Collosus EP from Boston’s brightest star, Mr. Lif, El-P and his new label came strong out of the gates. Following up in 2001 with two of the most celebrated independent hip hop albums of the last several years, Cannibal Ox’s The Cold Vein and Aesop Rock’s Labor Days, Def Jux solidified itself as the new lodestar of indie hip hop.” next dvd