Cameron Ezike Giles, better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" Rivera's Untertainment under the aegis of Epic and released his first two studio albums Confessions of Fire and S.D.E. in 1998 and 2000 respectively; the former achieved gold status by the RIAA. After leaving Epic, Giles signed to Roc-A-Fella Records in 2001 and released his third studio album Come Home with Me the following year; it achieved platinum status by the RIAA, and also contained Cam'ron's highest-charting singles to date; "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which peaked at No. 4 and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively. His fourth studio album and final release on Roc-A-Fella, Purple Haze was released in 2004 to critical acclaim and commercial success, being certified gold by the RIAA.
Leslie Edward Pridgen, better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper from North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known as a member of the rap group State Property, during his time with Roc-A-Fella Records alongside Jay-Z. In 2009, Freeway was briefly signed to Cash Money Records, but returned to work again with Jay-Z at the mogul's entertainment organization and record label, Roc Nation, with his 2018 album Think Free.
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American Hip Hop and Rap record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Damon "Dame" Dash, Kareem "Biggs" Burke, and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter in 1995.
Damon Anthony Dash is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke.
The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American record label group formed in 1998 by combining the operations of 14+ record labels including Island Records, Def Jam Recordings, and Mercury Records. In 2011, Motown Records was split from The Universal/Motown Records Group and subsequently became a division of the Island Def Jam Music Group. On April 1, 2014, Universal Music announced that Island Def Jam's operations would be split between three entities: Island Records, Motown Records, and Def Jam Recordings.
Malik Deshawn Cox, known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive, who served as the hype man for fellow New York rapper Jay-Z. Cox started his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and Warehouse Music Group in 2016. He has released four albums, the first two certified Gold. His next project The Process, has stalled.
M.O.P. is an American hip hop duo. Composed of rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, the duo are known for their aggressive lyrical delivery style. Although they maintain a strong underground following, they are mainly known for the song "Ante Up", released on their Warriorz album in 2000, and with which they have had mainstream success. The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier. Fame sometimes produces under the moniker Fizzy Womack, and has produced a significant number of tracks on all M.O.P. releases since 1996's Firing Squad, as well as work for other artists including Kool G Rap, Teflon and Wu-Tang Clan.
Dwight Equan Grant, better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first became known for his association with Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records, releasing his debut studio album The Truth through Roc-A-Fella in February 2000 to critical and commercial success.
The Diplomats is an American hip hop collective formed in 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jim Jones in Harlem, New York. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey, all of whom grew up together in Harlem. In 1999, fellow Harlem-based rapper Juelz Santana joined the group.
Amil Kahala Whitehead is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. She was prominent in the late 1990s as a Jay-Z protégé, and recorded the single "Can I Get A..." with him for the Rush Hour soundtrack.
Pedro Louis Zayas, known as Peedi Crakk and Peedi Peedi is an American rapper of Puerto Rican descent. He is a member of State Property and is currently signed to Amalgam Digital and G-Unit Philly.
Def Jam Recordings is an American multinational record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly on hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
Murder Inc. was a short-lived American hip hop supergroup formed by American music executive Irv Gotti, in 1995. The trio was composed of three of the most prominent rappers in the music industry at the time, East Coast hip hop artists Jay-Z, DMX, and Ja Rule. The trio first appeared on fellow New York-based rapper Mic Geronimo's song "Time to Build". The trio even went on to appear on the cover of the June 1999 issue of American hip-hop magazine XXL. "Murder Inc." was rebranded by Irv Gotti in the namesake record label he co-founded in 1998, in which Ja Rule was signed.
Streets Is Watching is the soundtrack for the film of the same name. It was released on May 12, 1998 by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album helped served as a promotion of the up-and-coming artists on the label. The album fared well commercially reaching #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and having two singles appear on The Billboard Hot 100. It has notable appearances from Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, Ja Rule, Noreaga, Sauce Money, and DMX. Production is handled by a large array of artists including Dame Dash, Big Jaz and M.O.P.
This page lists a discography of albums and extended plays released under or distributed by Def Jam Recordings, a division of Universal Music Group, which had been created in 1984. Records distributed by another label, but released under Def Jam, are also included or otherwise reviewed. Also included are albums or EPs that were released under Rush Associated Labels and subsidiaries like Original Black Recordings, DJ West, Def Soul, Disturbing tha Peace, Def Jam South, Roc-A-Fella Records, Murder Inc. Records, and GOOD Music.
Gimel Androus Keaton, better known by his stage name Young Guru, is an American audio engineer, record producer, disc jockey, and record executive from Wilmington, Delaware. In 2019, Young Guru won a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album for mixing the album Everything Is Love by The Carters. He has worked with many leading recording artists, most notably Jay-Z, and an April 2015 Wall Street Journal profile called him "the most famous and successful engineer in the history of hip-hop".
Jonathan Burks, better known by his stage name Jaz-O, is an American rapper and record producer active in the late 1980s through the 1990s, best known for being the mentor of Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z. Burks is nicknamed "the Originator", and had a song titled "The Originators" that featured a young Jay-Z in 1990.
Chaka Pilgrim is a music industry executive who is most well known as the former president of Roc Nation Records. Roc Nation consists of both management and label clients, many of whom Pilgrim has helped from the beginning of their careers. Some of the notable artists she has worked with include Big Sean, Rihanna, Kanye West, J. Cole, Jay Electronica, Meek Mill, and JAY Z. Besides being a veteran music executive, Pilgrim has also been a key player in TV and film. Early in her career, she served as a producer for many well-known classic African-American movies, such as Streets is Watching, State Property and Paid in Full.
Kareem "Biggs" Burke is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and film producer. Burke is best known as the co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records along with Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Damon "Dame" Dash.
