Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC. is an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Damon "Dame" Dash, Kareem "Biggs" Burke, and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter in 1994.
So So Def Recordings is an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and owned by producer Jermaine Dupri, specializing in Southern hip hop, R&B and bass music. So So Def has managed artists such as Bow Wow, Kris Kross, TLC, and Usher.
112 is an American R&B group from Atlanta, Georgia. Formerly artists on Bad Boy Records, the group signed to the Def Soul roster in 2002. They had great success from the late 1990s into the early 2000s with hits such as "Only You", "Anywhere" and the Grammy Award–nominated single, "Peaches & Cream". The group most notably won a Grammy Award in 1997 for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for featuring on the single by label boss Puff Daddy, "I'll Be Missing You".
Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He is the founder and serves as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of Epic Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group, as well as the president and CEO of Arista Records.
Def Soul was an R&B-based division of American multinational record label Def Jam Recordings. It was formed in 1996 by Russell Simmons and Kevin Liles to expand R&B and soul music through Def Jam's said genre-related roster following the successes of Montell Jordan and Case.
John David Kalodner is a retired American A&R executive.
GOOD Music is an American record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with the Island Def Jam Music Group in 2011. In 2012, the label released its debut compilation album Cruel Summer. In 2015, Pusha T was appointed the president of the label by West, while record executive Steven Victor was appointed COO.
Def Jam Recordings is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly on hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
Ernest Dion Wilson, professionally known as No I.D., is an American hip hop and R&B record producer from Chicago, Illinois. Wilson is also a disc jockey (DJ), music arranger and rapper, having released an album in 1997, titled Accept Your Own and Be Yourself , under Relativity Records. He is perhaps best known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common. He has since become a heavily sought-out and high-profile producer, producing hit singles such as "Smile" by G-Unit, "Outta My System" and "Let Me Hold You" by Bow Wow, "Heartless" by Kanye West, "D.O.A." by Jay-Z, "My Last" by Big Sean, and "New Light" by John Mayer.
Violator is a company, record label, marketing group, and multi-media entertainment conglomerate founded and operated by Chris Lighty and Mona Scott-Young until Lighty's death on August 30, 2012.
Andre O’Neal Harrell was an American music executive and multimedia producer. In 1986, recently a rapper, he formed Uptown Records, soon a leader in R&B, rap, and their fusion, "hip hop soul" and "new jack swing." He gave Sean "Diddy" Combs his 1990 start in the industry, and later was Motown Records' CEO.
George Drakoulias is a Greek-American music producer and a former A&R executive at the American Recordings label. He is often considered a protégé of Rick Rubin.
Manny Marroquin is an American mixing engineer. He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work.
Malik Yusef El Shabazz Jones is an American spoken word artist, poet, rapper, writer, composer, producer and director based in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Shakir Stewart, a native of Oakland, California, was a US record executive in a number of companies, the latest being Def Jam. At the time of his death he was the Senior Vice President of Island Def Jam Music Group and the Executive Vice President of Def Jam.
Shanti Das is an American music industry executive, marketing consultant, entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. She was most recently Executive Vice President of Urban Marketing and Artist Development at Universal Motown Records, where she managed the marketing campaigns for artists such as Akon, Erykah Badu, and Ashanti.
Chris Anokute is an A&R executive and Founder of the entertainment company, Young Forever Inc. He was born from Nigerian parents, grew up in New Jersey, and currently resides in Los Angeles, California. His first stint in A&R was when he was hired at Virgin/Capitol Records in 2006 as their Senior Director of A&R at the age of 23 years old. While at Virgin/Capitol Records, Chris oversaw the A&R for Katy Perry and Joss Stone. He later held senior vice-president of A&R roles at Universal Motown Records, Island Def Jam Music Group and Epic Records between the years of 2011 and 2018.
D. (Derick) Prosper began his career as a poet on the NPS National Poetry Slam circuit. He won several regional competitions and featured on the 1994 Providence Poetry Slam Team. D. Prosper was the youngest poet featured on the tour. He ranked fourth in the nation at the NPS finals in Asheville, North Carolina. Prosper was also featured in respected publication Fast Folk Music Magazine. He eventually earned a coveted spot on the 1994 Lollapalooza Tour D. Prosper's love of spoken word poetry ignited his passion for hip-hop music.
Steven William Victor is a Haitian-American record executive, artist manager, music publisher, and A&R representative. He is the founder & CEO of Victor Victor Worldwide and SVP of A&R at Universal Music Group. He formerly served as COO of GOOD Music and EVP & Head of A&R at Def Jam Recordings.
