In 1984, Def Jam introduced a new kind of music and lifestyle–hip-hop–through aspiring record producer and punk-rocker Rick Rubin and party promoter/artist manager Russell Simmons. It has become the sound of young America, akin to Motown in the sixties. This is the first book to see the label whole: through an oral history woven from interviews (some exclusive) with its founders and artists such as LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Ja Rule, Rihanna, Ashanti, and Kanye West, as well as through rare memorabilia from personal archives of the label’s movers and shakers: behind-the-scenes photos, flyers, advertisements, movie posters, album cover art, magazine covers, and press clips from around the world. It also showcases images from some of the best-known photographers of the era, including Albert Watson, Glen E. Friedman, Jonathan Mannion, and Annie Leibovitz. The book containts the story of Def Jam in the words of its artists and top executives, taken from interviews and seamlessly told as a narrative of no-holds barred recollections and anecdotes, made even more compelling by the fact that Def Jam is one of the last great record labels to enjoy the widespread cultural influence that it does, in light of the increasing digitization of music.

The book it out now, released by Rizzoli.

See author Bill Adler talk about the book here:

Okay, you might already guessed it. Man Rec is a label about electronic beats and lots of rhymes. And there´s one tune that brings it all down: Run DMC´s “Sucker MCs”. When released, it set a new standard. With a bassdrum, some claps and a snare plus two MCs singing over it, “Sucker MCs” showed that it doesnt need much more than a DJ playing a minimalist beat and two guys on a mike to make a dope tune.

Oh, and of course in terms of fashion there´s only one name we have to highlight: Prince Vince (a.k.a. Vincent Gallo)