10 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
American hip-hop group from New York City who signed to Def Jam in 1985 and released Licensed to Ill — the first hip-hop album to reach #1 on the Billboard 200 — before evolving across multiple genres over three decades.
American rapper and co-founder of Public Enemy whose delivery, rhetoric, and political consciousness defined the golden age of political hip-hop — and who called hip-hop 'the CNN of black America' — establishing the template for the conscious rapper.
American record label co-founded by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons in 1984 — from Rubin's NYU dorm room — which signed and developed LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and later Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Rihanna, making it the most influential label in hip-hop history.
American rapper and entrepreneur who built one of the most successful artist-business empires in history — from Reasonable Doubt through 13+ studio albums — while simultaneously building Roc-A-Fella Records, Rocawear clothing, Armand de Brignac champagne, Tidal, and the Roc Nation sports and entertainment agency.
1985 semi-biographical film about the founding of Def Jam Records — featuring Run-DMC, LL Cool J, the Fat Boys, and Sheila E — which was the first major hip-hop film and served as a promotional vehicle for Def Jam's early roster.
American rapper and actor who was the first artist signed to Def Jam Records — releasing Radio (1985), the label's first album — and who built a 40-year career across music, acting (NCIS: LA), and the Rock the Bells brand.
American hip-hop group from Long Island who created the most politically charged music of the hip-hop golden age — It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) being the defining political rap album — through Chuck D's rhetorical intensity and The Bomb Squad's dense sonic collage.
American hip-hop group from Hollis, Queens who became the first hip-hop artists to achieve mainstream crossover success — their collaboration with Aerosmith on Walk This Way (1986) being the moment hip-hop entered mainstream rock radio — and who wore Adidas as a cultural statement that became the first hip-hop brand deal.
American rapper who built one of the most successful independent hip-hop careers of his generation — refusing record label deals, self-producing all his music, and accumulating streaming success before signing on his own terms.
American entrepreneur who co-founded Def Jam Records with Rick Rubin — building the most important hip-hop label of the 1980s — and later expanded into Phat Farm clothing, Rush Communications, and other ventures, making him the prototype of the hip-hop entrepreneur.