| Def Jam South | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Universal Music Group |
| Founded | 1999; 26 years ago (1999) |
| Founder | Russell Simmons |
| Defunct | 2012 (2012) |
| Status | Defunct |
| Distributor(s) |
|
| Genre | Southern hip hop |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | New York City,New York |
Def Jam South was a music division ofDef Jam Recordings. The label focused primarily onsouthern acts. It was best known for launching the career of its first artist signed,Ludacris and his own imprint,Disturbing tha Peace. In 2004, following the signing ofJeezy and hip-hop's overdominance oftrap music, the division was folded into Def Jam.[citation needed]
In the late 1990s, hip hop's main popularity moved fromWest Coast hip hop andEast Coast hip hop toSouthern hip hop. Co-founder of Def Jam Recordings,Russell Simmons, wanted to capitalize off of the success of southern rap. He recruitedScarface, a southern rap legend and former member of theGeto Boys to be the head of the label and, by 1999, the label was established.[1] Later that year, a former Atlanta DJ named Chris Luva Luva began rapping under the monikerLudacris and released his debut solo album,Incognegro, independently on his own record labelDisturbing tha Peace. Scarface listened to the album while visiting Atlanta and made a deal to distribute Ludacris and his DTP imprint through Def Jam.[2] Ludacris became one of the biggest stars in the southern hip hop market and would lead the Def Jam South division to great heights with the releases ofBack for the First Time (2000),Word of Mouf (2001) andChicken-N-Beer (2003). Scarface would end up releasing only one album under Def Jam South,The Fix, in August 2002, as he left the label forRap-A-Lot Records soon after.[3] Following this,Universal Music Group could not afford to finance the label's division anymore, due to the ongoingmusic piracy crisis, so on, Def Jam South was folded into the master generality of Def Jam Recordings in 2004, as they were in the process of signing then-newcomerYoung Jeezy.[citation needed]
In the summer of 2005, Atlanta rapperYoung Jeezy would release his debut album,Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101. It would later go platinum and claim a so-called "revival" of the label.[citation needed] In 2009,DJ Khaled was named president of Def Jam South.[4][5] DJ Khaled left Def Jam South in 2011 after his label,We the Best Music, would be a part of Cash Money Records, a division of Def Jam's sister Universal Music label,Republic Records. There has been no official releases under Def Jam South, as of 2022.[citation needed]
Despite the shutdown, an officialSpotify playlist exists under the label's profile with the division name, included with songs by Ludacris, Jeezy and recent Def Jam signeesFredo Bang andKaash Paige.[6]
