Rawkus Records (or Rawkus Entertainment) is an American hip hop

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

, owned by James Murdoch, known for starting the careers of many rappers. Rawkus started in 1995 with releases in hip-hop,

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

and fun-dustrial (Dystopia One). Label heads Brian Brater and

Jarret Myer Jarret Myer (born February 6, 1973) is an American media entrepreneur who co-founded the record label Rawkus Records, the YouTube talent company Big Frame, and the digital media brand Uproxx. Since the sale of Uproxx to Woven Digital in 2014, My ...

then signed some of the top underground talent from the New York area, notably

Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

Hi-Tek Tony Louis Cottrell (born May 5, 1976), better known as Hi-Tek, is an American rapper and music producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, ...

and

Company Flow Company Flow was an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, New York City, consisting of Bigg Jus, El-P and Mr. Len. The group was at one time associated with the independent record label Rawkus Records. Rapper/ producer El-P and DJ/producer ...

, who went on to define the label's sound. The string of 12" releases and full-length albums that followed helped initiate a resurgence in the New York/ East Coast sound. Many of these are considered classics among hip-hop aficionados. During the mid to late 1990s, Rawkus became a dominant label in the underground hip-hop scene, producing a string of gold albums and a platinum album.

History

Rawkus Records was established in 1995 by Brian Brater and

, with financial backing from their high school friend

James Murdoch James Rupert Jacob Murdoch (born 13 December 1972) is an American - British businessman. He is the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the former chief executive officer (CEO) of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019. He was the chairma ...

, son of

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...

. In 1996, Rupert Murdoch bought a majority of Rawkus. In 1999 the label entered into a distribution deal with

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Master P, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Silkk the Shocker, Jay-Z, Paris, Mack 10, 504 Boyz, Brotha Lynch Hung, ...

. Over the years, Rawkus recorded several notable independent hip hop artists, including Reflection Eternal,

, the High and Mighty,

and

(as Blackstar),

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: ...

and Skillz. In 2000, Rawkus released New York City rapper Big L's second and final studio album, '' The Big Picture''. Released posthumously after Big L's 1999 murder, the album debuted and peaked in the top 15 on the ''

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

''. Anchored by the success of the single, ''Flamboyant'', the album was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for selling over 500,000 copies in America. In 2002, Rawkus signed a joint venture deal with MCA. Soon after, MCA folded and

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

/ Geffen bought Rawkus. After the sale of its catalog in 2004, Rawkus split from Geffen. In 2006, Rawkus signed with

RED Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

distribution company) and reemerged with a new line up of notable independent hip hop artists: The Procussions, Mr. J. Medeiros,

Kidz in the Hall Kidz in the Hall is an Americans, American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Chicago, Illinois. History Group members Jabari Evans (Naledge) and Michael Aguilar (Double-0 (Kidz in the Hall), Double-0) met in 2000 during a talent show at the Un ...

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

, and

Panacea In Greek mythology and religion, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Mythology Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: * Panac ...

. In early 2007, Rawkus Records accepted album submissions from Hip Hop artists, known or unknown, to be considered for their new campaign. The 50 artists chosen to wear the Rawkus 50 badge were signed to a digital distribution deal through IODA's (Independent Online Distribution Alliance) digital distribution network and had their albums released under the banner "Rawkus 50 presents". The campaign was unsuccessful. Since 2007, Rawkus has not released a new project.

Discography

* *1997:

- '' Funcrusher Plus'' *1997: '' Soundbombing'' *1998: '' Lyricist Lounge, Volume One'' *1998: Black Star - '' Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star'' *1999:

- '' Little Johnny from the Hospitul: Breaks & Instrumentals Vol.1'' *1999: High & Mighty - ''

Home Field Advantage In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home (sports), home team ...

'' *1999:

- '' Black on Both Sides'' *1999:

- '' Internal Affairs'' *1999: DJ Spinna - ''Heavy Beats Volume 1'' *1999: '' Soundbombing II'' *2000: '' Lyricist Lounge 2'' *2000: '' Hip Hop for Respect'' *2000: '' Ego Trip's The Big Playback - The Soundtrack to Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists'' *2000: Big L - '' The Big Picture'' *2000:

- ''

Train of Thought The train of thought or track of thought refers to the interconnection in the sequence of ideas expressed during a connected discourse or thought, as well as the sequence itself, especially in discussion how this sequence leads from one idea to ...

'' *2001: Smut Peddlers - '' Porn Again'' *2001:

- '' Hi-Teknology'' *2001:

Da Beatminerz Da Beatminerz are an American hip-hop production team from Bushwick, Brooklyn that is popular with the underground hip-hop scene. History The crew, originally composed of brothers Mr. Walt (born June 2, 1968) and DJ Evil Dee (born May 24, 1971 ...

- '' Brace 4 Impak'' *2001:

Various Artists A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

- ''Scratch Vol 1'' *2002: Mad Skillz - '' I Ain't Mad No More (unreleased)'' *2002:

- ''

Quality Quality may refer to: Concepts *Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something *Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property *Quality (physics), in response theory *Energy quality, used in various science discipli ...

'' *2002:

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Cr ...

- '' The Giancana Story'' *2002: '' Soundbombing III'' *2004:

- '' The Beautiful Struggle'' *2005: '' Best of Decade I: 1995-2005'' *2006: The Procussions - ''5 Sparrows for 2 Cents'' *2006:

- '' School Was My Hustle'' *2006:

- '' Ink Is My Drink'' *2007: Mr. J. Medeiros - '' Of gods and girls'' *2007:

Blue Scholars Blue Scholars is an American hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, created in 2002 while the members, DJ Sabzi (Saba Mohajerjasbi) and MC Geologic (George Quibuyen), were students at the University of Washington. The name "Blue Scholar ...

- '' Bayani'' *2007:

- ''

Port Authority A port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure. ...

'' *2007:

- ''The Scenic Route'' *2007: Sev Statik and DJ Dust - '' Back to Dust'' *2007: Point Blank - ''Don't Get Carried Away'' *2007:

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; ), or Ezekias (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Kingdom of Judah, Judah according to the Hebrew Bible.Stephen L Harris, Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "G ...

- ''I Predict A Riot''

Rawkus 50

The "Rawkus 50" marketing campaign saw the release of fifty digital hip-hop albums. They were all made available on 27 November 2007. # 12Bit - ''"Rawkus 50 Presents..."'' # 3rd Brillyance - ''"Grass Roots"'' # Aarophat - ''"Aarodynamix"'' # Attlas - ''"Rawkus 50 Presents..."'' # Bekay - ''"The Horror Flick"'' # Barak Yalad - ''"A Loss For Words"'' # Chuck Taylor - ''"Black Hop"'' # Clan Destined - ''"And For Our Next Trick"'' # Custom Made - ''"Truth Be Told"'' # Cymarshall Law - ''"Hip Hop in the Flesh"'' # Cy Young - ''"Exactly"'' # Doujah Raze - ''"Where You Are"'' # Dutchmassive - ''"Crush Your System"'' # Dynas - ''"Me, Myself and Rhymes"'' # East - ''"The Right Direction"'' # Finale - ''"Develop"'' # Grand Agent - ''"Peak Oil"'' # Hassaan Mackey - ''"Soul For Sale"'' # Intricate Minds - ''"Self Hypnosis"'' # Kaimbr - ''"Why Be Somebody Else"'' # Kaze - ''"Block 2 the Basement"'' # Kojoe - ''"Rawnin'"'' # Krukid - ''"African"'' # Laws - ''"Super Thug Killa Rap"'' # LEGACY - ''"Rawkus 50 Presents..."'' # Mookie Jones - ''"Catch Me If You Can"'' # Mr. Metaphor - ''"The Evolution of Marc Bars"'' # Phenetiks - ''"Revolutionary Non Pollutionary"'' # Pizon - ''"I Am Hip Hop"'' # Prime - ''"From the Ground Up"'' # Protoman - ''"Grey Area"'' # Red Clay - ''"The Red Dawn"'' # Roddy Rod - ''"Blunt Park Sessions"'' # Scanz - ''"Prelude to a Legacy"'' # Scavone - ''"The Rehab Record"'' # Sev Statik & Dust - ''"Back to Dust"'' # Silent Knight - ''"Hunger Strike 2"'' # Brooklyn Shanti - ''"The1Shanti"'' # 6th Sense - ''"It's Coming Soon"'' # The Smile Rays - ''"Smilin' on You"'' # Span Phly - ''"Two Weeks Notice"'' # Spit Supreme - ''"Whole Life For This"'' # Spokinn Movement - ''"60 Min. Spin Cycle"'' # SunN.Y. - ''"Rawkus 50 Presents..."'' # The Breax - ''"Rawkus 50 Presents..."'' # The Foundation - ''"Forever Behind the Music"'' # The Regiment - ''"The Come Up"'' # Together Brothers - ''"Rawkus 50 Presents..."'' # Wildabeast - ''"Many Levels"'' # Willie Evans Jr. - ''"Communication"''

References

External links

Rawkus
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{Authority control Record labels established in 1996 Record labels disestablished in 2004 Hip-hop record labels American independent record labels 1995 establishments in New York City