No CEO at Def Jam, Irv Gotti Disappointed

January 23rd, 2012 | By

Def Jam is facing a wave of disappointment from its former chief Irv Gotti where he stated that the label which has contributed much to Hip Hop history lacking a CEO isn’t doing justice to its culture.

Gotti even put in a bid for the presidency of Def Jam, where others from the industry supported him in his move. His desire to bring justice to history and its position in the industry is more than money, but a sense of culture that he loved.

Gotti said that, “Def Jam, I shouldn’t even comment on it because it makes me angry there hasn’t been a president of Def Jam since [Jay-Z], really.” He shared his sentiments on the fact that it was important for Def Jam to maintain its position in the Hip Hop industry when he continued, ” I want it so bad, not even for the money or nothing, I just love the culture. Def Jam is the light of the culture. So to have no one there it’s like, the powers that be, they don’t care about my culture.”

Gotti has shown his drive toward maintaining the label because he was there for mold it into what it is today. Thus, Gotti wants nothing more than the position to be secured by a reliable person in order to maintain the name that Hip Hop knows Murder Inc. for.

Gotti has been known to produce music and manage artists as previous CEO of Def Jam. In 2002, Def Jam has dominated music around the world, which made Def Jam a legend in the Hip Hop industry. Some of the popular rappers that rose to fame because of Def Jam were DMX, Ja Rule, and Jay-Z.

KRS One’s Beef with Def Jam

September 28th, 2009 | By

As you may have all heard, Def Jam has been sold and taken over by none other than Jay-Z. Now, this may sound very nice, especially to all of you Jay-Z fans, but not everyone is feeling the same glory. KRS One, for instance, isn’t too thrilled about the news. He is known for always going against the system and big corporations that neglect and abuse the little people. So nothing is stopping him from targeting Def Jam. The record company was established by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin back in the day when hip hop was fresh and new. Today, KRS One complains that hip hop has been damaged and that the Jay-Z take over of Def Jam may down it some more. I guess he figures someone like Jay isn’t the solution to hip hop’s ordeal.

Def Jam is the father and mentor of a lot of artists in R&B, pop and rap. It brought and still is bringing out lots of artists and many of the same artists are still signed under their label. KRS One told XXL Magazine that Def Jam single-handedly destroyed hip hop. According to KRS, everything from the lyrics, commercialized music and one artist being played on the radio all day is all thanks to Def Jam. There’s really no competing with Def Jam, so everyone else had to respect what the record label was doing. Hip hop groups like X-Clan and Public Enemy used to be with Def Jam, which were also against the system and big corporations, now Def Jam is a big corporation — how ironic.