Def Jam Recordings

Rick Rubin / Russell Simmons founded. LL Cool J, Jay-Z, DMX, Kanye, Nas, Rihanna.

Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons built Def Jam out of a dorm room in 1983, but it became the most consequential hip-hop label in history—a place where LL Cool J's Kangol swagger collided with Rakim's lyrical precision, where Jay-Z eventually ran the entire operation as president and CEO, and where Nas, DMX, Kanye West, and Rihanna all cut their teeth on the Def Jam imprint. Lyor Cohen's tenure steering the label after Simmons ensured it remained culturally dominant even as rap consolidated into the mainstream, while later signings like Young Jeezy and 2 Chainz proved Def Jam's formula could adapt from boom-bap to trap without losing credibility.