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The Latest Breaking News from Def Jam

“We thought it would be a taster single to set the scene, but when it came out, it went crazy": The almost unbelievable story of how EMF went to No 1 in the US with their debut single, which came with a huge guitar riff and a helping hand from Rick Rubin

“The guitar riff goes from blues mode to flamenco mode, like the two conflicting sides of my life”

MusicRadar

Slayer to play two special US shows celebrating 40 years of Reign In Blood this autumn

Cannibal Corpse, the Cavaleras and Crowbar are among the support acts for the gigs in Minnesota and California

Metal Hammer

“We thought, ‘Wow, that’s really cool – this was the guy that did all those crazy, terrible things’”: How Slayer made Angel Of Death – the fastest, freakiest and most controversial song in thrash metal history

The opening song from 1986’s Reign In Blood affirmed Slayer as thrash metal’s scariest scare-mongers

Metal Hammer

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"People thought we were Nazi sympathisers, and nothing could be further from the truth." The highs, lows, controversies and epic comebacks of Slayer

How one Mercyful Fate-worshipping little band from California changed the face of metal forever

Metal Hammer

“His studio was a temple to analogue, within which he made a point of always wearing a boiler suit”: 6 of the quirkiest producers who pushed recorded music further than ever before

They might have operated in idiosyncratic ways, but the particular approaches of these producers have left a footprint on the music landscape

MusicRadar

Russell Simmons rape accuser says music mogul ‘caused pain’ as she refiles lawsuit

The Def Jam Recordings co-founder is once again facing legal action over the alleged assault in the 1990s

The Independent UK

Irv Gotti, music executive who create Murder Inc. Records, dies at 54

Irv Gotti, a music mogul who founded Murder Inc. Records and was behind major hip-hop and R&B artists such as Ashanti and Ja Rule, has died

The Independent UK

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Record producer Irv Gotti dies aged 54 as Kanye West and 50 Cent lead tributes

Kanye West and 50 Cent have led tributes to late record producer Irv Gotti, who has died aged 54.

BANG Premier

Irv Gotti, Murder Inc founder and producer of DMX, Ja Rule, Kanye West and others, dies aged 54

Def Jam says it is deeply saddened by death of music mogul who ‘reshaped the soundscape of hip-hop and R&B’

The Guardian - AU

"It was crazed, almost Charles Manson–like." Before he started Def Jam, and produced everyone from Slayer to Johnny Cash, Rick Rubin played guitar in a noise-rock band called Hose, and recorded one of the worst Led Zeppelin covers ever committed to vinyl

Now one of the most powerful and influential men in the music industry, once upon a time super-producer Rick Rubin was just another punk rock guitarist in a terrible band

Metal Hammer

LiAngelo Ball Turns Viral Hit Into $8 Million Contract and His Own Label with Def Jam

LiAngelo Ball has turned one song into a career.

Sports Illustrated

A (fake) 16-song set list for LiAngelo Ball’s first tour show after his lucrative Def Jam

Tweaker Pt. 2 (We still Tweakin') is my personal fave

USA Today Sports Media Group

LiAngelo Ball somehow turned 10 seconds of his song Tweaker into an $8 million record deal

Gelo just got PAID.

USA Today Sports Media Group

The Long Wave: The Lamar v Drake beef has gone legal – what does it say about today’s hip-hop industry?

In this week’s newsletter: Lawyers are now involved in the most explosive rap feud of the century. A look at the potential cultural and commercial impact, and how hip-hop became big business

The Guardian - UK

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MusicRadar

“I co-wrote most of everything on the Beastie Boys album”: Rick Rubin on his greatest hits of the ’80s - from the Beasties to Roy Orbison

Plus: his pick for the greatest rock 'n' roll producer of all time

The Independent UK

LL Cool J: ‘I was hanging out with some of the most dangerous characters in New York’

The hip-hop star’s acting career led to a 11-year musical hiatus, but despite one major false start, he’s back with a new album. He talks to Stevie Chick about vulnerability, longevity and the call he got telling him to stay off the streets

The Guardian - UK

‘Ghostface Killah wanted to be a homicidal eagle!’ – Def Jam: Fight for NY at 20

Marking the anniversary, the creators of the rap beef beat-em-up sequel share memories of transforming Flavor Flav and Snoop Dogg into legendary video game characters

MusicRadar

"I have no technical ability, and I know nothing about music": Solving the mystery of Rick Rubin, the superproducer who says he doesn’t know how to use a mixing desk

How can a producer that's worked with Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash and Jay-Z have no technical ability - and is he a fraud, or a genius?

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The Guardian - UK

Kings From Queens: The Run-DMC Story review – incredibly honest and raw TV

This look at the hip-hop legends spares no effort in telling their tale exactly as it was, from substance abuse to their darkest hours. It’s intelligent, nuanced TV – even if it could be more open about Russell Simmons

The Guardian - UK

One to watch: Cruza

The Florida R&B groovers are poised to break through with an album of eclectic, ambitious music on Def Jam

Louder

"Public Enemy gave the establishment something to fear, an intelligent, angry, politicised, uncompromising voice for disenfranchised black America." A beginner's guide to Def Jam Recordings in five essential albums

Def Jam is the most influential record label in hip-hip history. Here is your guide to its most significant releases

Top News

Rapper Bo$$, Trailblazer In '90S Rap, Dies At 54

Rapper Bo$$, a '90s hip-hop pioneer, known for Born Gangstaz, passes away at 54 due to kidney failure. She leaves a significant impact on the genre.

MusicRadar

"I have no technical ability, and I know nothing about music": Yet here are 5 Rick Rubin-produced songs you need to hear

From hip-hop to rock and pop, Rubin has done it all...

The Guardian - US

Russell Simmons sued over alleged rape of Def Jam executive in the 1990s

Plaintiff alleges she faced harassment and battery by the hip-hop mogul and that her career was stalled by his ‘assaultive behavior’

MusicRadar

"It's like the universe had this incredible power to affect my ear and make me stay in one place": How an ear infection birthed Licensed to Ill's groundbreaking production and drove the Beastie Boys and Rick Rubin apart

A look back at the Beastie Boys' rocky relationship with the bearded superproducer

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