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Structured
in three parts, Def Jam, Inc. covers the 22 year history of the
company from 1982 through 2004, devoting most of the text to the first
eleven years. It details the combination of recording and management
companies founded respectively by the equally eccentric Rubin and
Simmons. The men's talents complemented each other with Rubin the more
musically creative and Simmons the marketing maven. Although
not the first book on the partnership between Rubin and Simmons,
Def Jam, Inc. has the distinction of getting significant involvement
from the founders and company insiders. That Gueraseva was a
journalist at the now-defunct, Russell Simmons-backed Oneworld
Magazine helped the author get Simmons to participate, which in turn
helped Gueraseva get individuals who initially had reservations to
cooperate.
At an interview in New York City prior to the
release of the book, Gueraseva noted that many asked whether Simmons
was on board. Once she answered in the affirmative. mouths opened and
reminisces aplenty flowed. In addition to professionals that were
still very visible in the music industry, Gueraseva had the task of
tracking down individuals who were "missing in action."
Among those were the producers LA Posse "who were important to LL
Cool J's career and ultimately to Def Jam because they produced hit
records for the label" during its early existence.
The result of Gueraseva's extensive research and
numerous interviews is a thorough accounting of the label in its
infancy through its growth. Def Jam, Inc. devotes less time to the
period when the label was consumed by music conglomerates, arguably
because that story has been well-documented in the pages of hip hop
and other trade publications.
Strangely though, Gueraseva fails to sufficiently
relate developments at the record label with occurrences affecting hip
hop specifically and the music industry generally. Examples of such
include the casual mention of the legal implications of sampling, the
paltry discussion of censorship initiatives and the omission of
references to the anti-misogyny campaigns that continue today.
As with any company where the most valuable
resource is human capital, the human stories, in this case those of
the recording artists, are the most compelling. But in Def Jam, Inc.
the artists' tales are sprinkled throughout the book and concise
profiles of the artists are sacrificed for the sake of charting the
chronological growth of the record company. Because of this, Def Jam,
Inc. fails to consistently engage. The heart and soul of Def Jam for
the consumer is not the various forms the company has taken over the
years or the numerous executives that steered the label through those
times. Instead, consumers identify with the artists that defined the
label's existence. Thankfully, a comprehensive index is provided to
aid in pinpointing discourse about Def Jam's signature artists and
others.
M
August 2005
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