On this date 37 years ago, Adam Horowitz (Ad Rock), Adam Yauch (MCA), and Michael Diamond (Mike D) aka The Beastie Boys, dropped their sophomore LP Licensed To Ill on the Def Jam Imprint under Columbia Records.
On the heels of the successful LL Cool J Radio album and the cult classic flick Krush Groove, Def Jam head honcho Russell Simmons decided to head in the most unconventional direction with the quasi-punk rock/Hip-Hop trio for Def Jam’s follow up to those monumental releases. The original title of this release was Don’t Be A Faggot, but Columbia Records pushed Simmons to change the homophobic title.
Rated as one of The Source Magazine‘s Top 100 Best Albums, Licensed To Ill received the coveted five-mic status, a precedent for Jewish Hip Hop artists. In less than six months after its release, this critically acclaimed project earned the Beastie Boys a platinum plaque, lead by the singles “Brass Monkey,” “No Sleep Til Brooklyn,” “Hold It Now, Hit It” and the storytelling smash “Paul Revere.”
Unfortunately, crew member MCA lost his battle with cancer in 2012, which actually caused a resurgence in the album’s popularity and sales.
Salute to Def Jam, Russell Simmons, Ad Rock, Mike D and the continued legacy of MCA for creating such a timeless Hip Hop classic!
With an appellation like Remember My Name, you must be ready to stamp your name in the history books, and Lil Durk came prepared. For the Chicago native, a career in music was not his primary path to success. Being as gifted as he is, he had no choice but to take rap seriously. Evidently, one of the earliest testaments to his notable talents is his debut album, Remember My Name.
This year, the album turned 8 years old, and it’s hard to believe that much time has flown by. Long before his chart-topping albums and viral hit singles, Lil Durk offered us Remember My Name. It’s where it all truly took off for the rapper, and today, he’s a dominating Hip Hop star.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 12: Lil Durk performs during the Def Jam Upfronts 2015 Showcase Powered By Samsung Milk Music & Milk Video at Arena on May 12, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Def Jam)
Indeed, Remember My Name was his debut album, but it was not the first project Lil Durk had put out. Before the album, Durk already had released five mixtapes between 2011 and 2014. Moreover, he had steadily gained a cult following and generated considerable buzz as an artist. This was boosted after the releases of Signed to the Streets (2013) and Signed to the Streets 2 (2014). The success of the two mixtapes subsequently helped Durk secure a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. While chatting with Complex, he revealed that he and Lil Reese were “the first acts from Chicago to sign straight to Def Jam. No other imprints. We’re straight to Def Jam — no middleman.” Remember My Name was released on June 2, 2015, and put a well-deserved spotlight on Lil Durk and his career.
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 26: Recording artist Lil Durk onstage at 106 & Park at the 2015 BET Experience at LA Live on June 26, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paras Griffin/FilmMagic)
A prevalent theme throughout the album is the reality of street life and struggle. Lil Durk also touches on relationships and self-reflection in songs like “Like Me” and “Lord Don’t Make Me Do It.” Amidst the challenges, the album is underlined with a strong theme of ambition, as well as Durk’s unwavering desire for success. Overall, Remember My Name masterfully weaves these themes together. The album creates a cohesive narrative that effortlessly resonates with everyday listeners. Through his honest storytelling and emotive delivery, Lil Durk paints a vivid picture of his life. He invited audiences to empathize with his experiences and emotions.
Remember My Name featured a diverse range of producers whom Lil Durk enlisted to drive home his thematic concepts. The album features production from prominent names, particularly Metro Boomin, Young Chop, and Boi-1da. The creative input provided by these geniuses delivered a mix of melodic and hard-hitting beats. Consequently, these beats complemented Durk’s lyrical content. They also helped showcase his versatility, blending drill elements with trap and melodic rap. Remember My Name is varied, yes, but it is also cohesive, a feat not many rappers can boast of with their debut offering.
On March 31, 2015, Lil Durk released the album’s sole single, “Like Me” ft. Jeremih. The song peaked at number nine on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Other guest appearances on the album include Logic on “Tryna’ Tryna’” and on the album’s deluxe edition, Hypno Carlito on “Ghetto (Grew Up),” and King Popo on “Remember My Name.” Some of the album’s standout tracks are “Like Me,” “Higher,” and “Tryna’ Tryna’.”
Upon its release, Remember My Name received mixed reviews from critics. Commercially, even though the album cannot be compared to Lil Durk’s more recent works, it definitely was not a failure by any means. In fact, at the time, it was his most successful work, and his first project to make it onto the Billboard 200 chart. Remember My Name peaked at number 14 on the chart and marked a new beginning for Lil Durk.
As a result, the album’s success paved the way for Lil Durk’s continued growth in the rap industry. It solidified his presence and opened doors for future collaborations and projects. Remember My Name established Lil Durk as a significant figure in the Chicago Hip Hop scene, and the larger rap community. It’s been eight years since his debut album, and just like he said they would, the rap community has remembered his name. With the moves he’s made, how could they forget it? In conclusion, the album will go down in history as being the foundation on which Lil Durk’s successful rap career was built.
Today we celebrate the 66th birthday of Hip Hop pioneer Russell Simmons!
Since the founding of Def Jam Recordings in 1983, Russell Simmons has been an instrumental part in the advancement of Hip Hop culture. Over his illustrious career Russell has launched the careers of multi-platinum artists (LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy to name a few), co-founded top-selling clothing lines Baby Phat and Phat Farm, created financial institutions with the Rush Card, and award-winning television shows Def Poetry Jam and Run’s House. It is nearly impossible to say what the state of rap music and Hip Hop culture would be today with the Russell Simmons influence.
Lately, Uncle Rush has even begun taking large strides outside of the entertainment and financial industries, becoming Hip Hop’s new-age spiritual guru. Since 2010, Simmons has released self-help books sharing his views on religion, spirituality, and even health. Through his Hindu and vegan lifestyles, Uncle Rush has assumed the role of mentor to a vast majority of today’s top recording artists.
Over the years, Hip Hop empires have risen to power and fallen from the mountaintop. Russell Simmons, however, has always been able to brave the tide and stand strong as one of the most impregnable forces of marketing and branding expertise. Since his first project, Run D.M.C., it has been obvious that no one truly understands Hip Hop the way that Russell Simmons does. His Midas touch continues to transform the culture into something new (and more profitable) with every idea he brings to fruition. He is truly a rap genius.
The history of Hip Hop would be incomplete without the mention of Russell Simmons and Def Jam Recordings. The illustrious music label began with Rick Rubin in his dormitory at New York University. A little while later, Rubin and Simmons joined forces to establish the powerhouse as a fully formed label. After housing now-legacy acts like LL Cool J, The Beastie Boys and Public Enemy in its early days, Def Jam quickly gained notoriety.
Russell Simmons enjoyed a very successful time as the co-founder of Def Jam. The Hip Hop genre was quickly proven to be in safe hands under the leadership of both Simmons and Rubin in the 80s. However, both co-founders have parted ways with the label for different reasons. Regardless, Russell Simmons is forever etched into the Def Jam history books.
Russell Simmons’ Early Days
Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons attends the Run DMC Tougher Than Leather album release party at the Palladium night club on September 15, 1988 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
A New York native, Russell Simmons was introduced to the rising wave of Hip Hop early on. He crossed paths with Kurt Walker and DJ/Bboy at the City College of New York. This encounter further delivered a greater dose of the genre to Simmons. By the late 70s, after hearing Eddie Cheeba perform in Harlem, Simmons surrendered himself to a life of Hip Hop.
In the 80s, Simmons was a rising Hip Hop promoter. This inspired his younger brother Joseph Simmons, also known as Rev Run to make music. Rev Run began to perform with Darryl McDaniels and Jason Mizell as Run-DMC. Run-DMC went on to achieve many groundbreaking feats as a new-school Hip Hop act. The group is also widely considered as one of the greatest Hip Hop acts of all time.
Formation Of Def Jam Recordings
Rick Rubin.” class=”wp-image-691805″ srcset=”https://wp.hnhh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1271604920.jpg 1024w, https://wp.hnhh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1271604920-300×198.jpg 300w, https://wp.hnhh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1271604920-768×508.jpg 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px” />LOS ANGELES, CA – 1997: (L-R) Record producer Rick Rubin and music mogul Russell Simmons pose for a portrait in Los Angeles, California in 1997. (Photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Russell Simmons was 27 years old when he co-founded Def Jam alongside then-21-year-old Rick Rubin. Both of them were rising producers, while Simmons doubled as a manager. He was working with multiple acts alongside Run-DMC. These were: Whodini, Kurtis Blow, and the Fearless Four. In addition to this, Simmons swiftly became one of Hip Hop’s go-to personalities. He was at the center of the genre in the early 80s in New York, forging connections with several clubs and record companies.
After linking up with Rubin, Simmons joined the effort to create an independent record company. The pair signed on some underground acts, and the rest was history. In the year of its inception, Def Jam released the singles “I Need a Beat” by LL Cool J, and “Rock Hard” by the Beastie Boys. Both songs achieved mainstream success, making the acts one of the first to do so within the genre.
Def Jam’s first full-length release was Radio, the debut studio album by LL Cool J. After scoring a distribution deal with CBS through Columbia Records, Def Jam became a significant player in the music business. Radio was a monumental success, not just commercially, but critically too. Thus, Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, and Def Jam became household names.
Russell Simmons’ Controversies
While Rubin parted ways with Def Jam in 1988 after a fallout with Lyon Cohen, Russell Simmons’ exit was a lot more controversial. Due to the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the MeToo movement, a series of allegations were aimed at Simmons beginning in 2017. Numerous women came out to accuse Simmons of multiple instances of sexual misconduct. These include physical and sexual harassment, assault, and rape.
Consequently, Simmons stepped down from his position in Def Jam, along with his positions in other companies. HBO also removed his name from All Def Comedy, the series he launched in 1992. Furthermore, a documentary, On the Record, was released in 2020 on HBO Max and covered many of the allegations against Simmons.
Personal Relationships
Russell Simmons and wife Kimora Lee Simmons during MTV Life Beat in Los Angeles, CA, United States. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
Russell Simmons and model Kimora Lee Simmons married in 1998. They share two daughters, Ming Lee, and Aoki Lee. The couple separated in 2006 and divorced in 2008. While his relationship with his ex-wife and daughters was great even after the divorce, things have taken a rocky turn in recent times.
Earlier in June, after the Father’s Day celebration, Simmons was called out by Kimora and their daughter Aoki for emotional abuse. Aoki Lee further took to Instagram Live sharing her concerns over her father’s mental well-being. She detailed instances of his behavior, sharing that she has refused to speak up due to her father’s influence.
On this day in Hip Hop history, LL Cool J released his third studio LP Walking with a Panther on Def Jam Recordings in 1989.
Peaking at #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart and #6 on the Billboard 200, this album continued LL’s streak of commercially successful albums as well as served as one of Hip Hop’s early crossover projects.
During that era, Def Jam was working to bring Hip Hop to the forefront of the mainstream, and this album was geared to reinvent LL Cool J’s sound while retaining its Hip Hop integrity. Although it may have been publicly successful at achieving its goal, some critics have said this project may have brought LL’s street credibility into question.
Regardless of critical opinion, the appeal of this album outshines anything negative that could be said about it. The most impressive and respectable feat of this project is LL’s introduction as a self-produced MC. Throughout Walking with a Panther he proved that not only was he capable of knocking out hit after hit but was also a proficient beat maker. The original production team used to create the majority of LL’s better-known songs prior to this album, L.A. Posse, decided to part ways with Def Jam following a contractual disagreement. This altercation left only one member of the team, Dwanye Simon, left to work with LL Cool J in producing the entirety of the LP.
This project also toted some of LL Cool J’s biggest hit singles including: “Going Back to Cali” and “Jingling Baby.” Both of these singles are hallmarks of LL Cool J’s career and in their own way describe his career as a whole. LL’s appeal was from the beginning catered toward the female demographic while still retaining his “cool guy” demeanor in a way that it wasn’t awkward for males to also be in huge support of his music and style. Much like a proto-Drake, LL Cool J through this album was able to deliver enough to keep the streets happy all while maintaining the attention of his female fan base.
On this date in 1984, the Kings from Queens released their first self-titled album on Def Jam Recordings under Rush Management.
This monumental album put Daryl McDaniels (DMC), Joseph Simmons (DJ Run), and Jason Mizell (Jam Master Jay) on the map, and launched one of the most successful careers Hip-Hop has ever seen.
With songs like “Sucker MCs,” “It’s Like That,” “Hard Times” and “Rock Box,” the record was an accurate reflection of the lives of three ambitious kids from Hollis, Queens in New York City in a time before the crack epidemic.
Simmons and McDaniels used to hang around Two-Fifths Park in Hollis in late 1980, hoping to rap for the local DJs who performed and competed there. The most popular one just happened to be Mizell, then known as “Jazzy Jase” because of his flashy wardrobe and b-boy attitude. Eventually, Simmons and McDaniels rapped in front of Mizell at the park, and the rest is history.
As a group, they soon strapped on a pair of Adidas, threw on a rope chain and topped it off with a Kangol hat. Little did they know, they were crafting a signature style, one that has stood the test of time and is widely recognized around the world.
Run-D.M.C. went on to release six more albums, including 1985’s King of Rock and 1986’s Raising Hell. Tragically, Mizell was gunned down on October 30, 2002, at his recording studio in Queens. Countless fans left Adidas sneakers, albums and flowers for the legendary DJ outside of the studio, where the murder occurred. The homicide has yet to be solved.
Run-D.M.C. was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, making them one of only two Hip Hop acts given that honor at the time.
The “Kings From Queens” dropped their sophomore LP 38 years ago today.
On this date in 1985, Joseph Simmons, Daryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell successfully avoided the sophomore jinx some three decades ago when they released the follow-up to their self-titled debut album with King Of Rock.
Produced by Run’s brother Def Jam founder Russell Simmons, this album was the project that catapulted the crew from rappers to internationally recognized recording artists. King Of Rock is historic in the sense that it was the first Hip Hop album to go platinum and ended up going double platinum. Singles like “King Of Rock” and “Rock It Like This” appeared in the cult classic flick Krush Groove, which is based on the rise of Run-D.M.C., Def Jam Records, co-starring Jay, Darryl, and Joe. Those two tracks and the comical “You Talk Too Much” all reached the Top 20 R&B charts.
Salute to Run, D.M.C., the Mizell family, the Simmons family, Rick Rubin, Larry Smith (RIP), and everyone at Def Jam and Profile who made this album happen!
On this date in 1998, Earl “DMX” Simmons dropped his sophomore release, Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood on the Def Jam/Ruff Ryders imprint. Less than a year following his debut album, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, X put out one of his most celebrated releases that shipped gold in its first week and were posted at the top of the charts for almost an entire month following its release.
The project, which was produced by Irv Gotti, Dame Grease and Swizz, debuted at number 1 on Billboard Top 200 just like X’s premier album. This feat was only accomplished once before by Tupac with All Eyez On Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.
The singles that led the album’s success were the dark, autobiographical “Slippin’” and the Swizz Beatz produced “No Love 4 Me” featuring then Ruff Ryders newcomer Drag-On. The album enjoyed additional success being that this was the project in heavy rotation during DMX’s silver screen debut alongside Nas in Belly.
Thanks to the entire Ruff Ryder team including the Dark Man Unknown himself for this timeless Hip Hop classic!
The Detroit mixtape is one of the defining projects in Big Sean‘s career. On the tape’s 10th anniversary, the father-to-be releases it onto streaming platforms via Def Jam Recordings. For the anniversary, Sean Don extends the project with a bonus track, “More Thoughts”.
Following the landmark arrival of Detroit, which features J Cole, Jhene Aiko, Chris Brown and more, saw nearly a million first-day downloads causing the DatPiff site to crash, Complex included the mixtape in its tally ofThe 50 Best Albums Of 2012. Detroit went on to win Best Mixtape honors at the 2013 BET Hip-Hop Awards.
In 2020, Big Sean went on to release Detroit 2, which became his third consecutive solo album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and the set’s Nipsey Hussle-featuring single, “Deep Reverence,” earned a nomination for Best Rap Performance at the 2021 Grammys.
Big Sean and longtime girlfriend Jhene Aiko are expecting their first child together in the coming months. The newborn will be Sean’s first and Aiko’s second. Aiko shares a daughter with Omarion’s younger brother O’Ryan.
In hip hop, Big Sean appears on new albums from The Game, DJ Khaled, Queen Naija, and Babyface Ray. Jhene Aiko and Sean are currently working on the Twenty88 sequel album.
On this day in Hip Hop history, LL Cool J released his third studio LP Walking with a Panther on Def Jam Recordings in 1989.
Peaking at #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart and #6 on the Billboard 200, this album continued LL’s streak of commercially successful albums as well as served as one of Hip Hop’s early crossover projects.
During that era, Def Jam was working to bring Hip Hop to the forefront of the mainstream, and this album was geared to reinvent LL Cool J’s sound while retaining its Hip Hop integrity. Although it may have been publicly successful at achieving its goal, some critics have said this project may have brought LL’s street credibility into question.
Regardless of critical opinion, the appeal of this album outshines anything negative that could be said about it. The most impressive and respectable feat of this project is LL’s introduction as a self-produced MC. Throughout Walking with a Panther he proved that not only was he capable of knocking out hit after hit but was also a proficient beat maker. The original production team used to create the majority of LL’s better-known songs prior to this album, L.A. Posse, decided to part ways with Def Jam following a contractual disagreement. This altercation left only one member of the team, Dwanye Simon, left to work with LL Cool J in producing the entirety of the LP.
This project also toted some of LL Cool J’s biggest hit singles including: “Going Back to Cali” and “Jingling Baby.” Both of these singles are hallmarks of LL Cool J’s career and in their own way describe his career as a whole. LL’s appeal was from the beginning catered toward the female demographic while still retaining his “cool guy” demeanor in a way that it wasn’t awkward for males to also be in huge support of his music and style. Much like a proto-Drake, LL Cool J through this album was able to deliver enough to keep the streets happy all while maintaining the attention of his female fan base.
Rick Rubin.” class=”wp-image-691805″ srcset=”https://wp.hnhh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1271604920.jpg 1024w, https://wp.hnhh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1271604920-300×198.jpg 300w, https://wp.hnhh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1271604920-768×508.jpg 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px” />
