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Wild Pitch was a New York indie with an impressive roster: Chill Rob G, Gang Starr, Lord Finesse, O.C. and Main Source all released classic albums on the label.
Wild Pitch gained a reputation for screwing over artists. Main Source, Gang Starr and UMCs are all rumoured to have physically threatened label owner Stu Fine for payments.
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Originally a publishing company, Jive Records went on to put out some of the best Hip Hop of the 80s and 90s with acts like Boogie Down Productions, A Tribe Called Quest, and Schoolly D.
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Ruthless Records was Eazy-E and Jerry Heller’s label. They put out all of the classic N.W.A and Eazy-E material in the 80s as well as related artists like Above The Law and The D.O.C.
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Before Wu-Tang, GZA was signed to Cold Chillin' Records as The Genius. Despite his skills he was a low priority at the label and his album, Words From the Genius, got lost in the shuffle. He was also forced to record a radio single, the R&B-tinged “Come Do Me”.
Cold Chillin' were distributed by Warner Brothers at the time (hence warn a brother). See GZA’s verse on “Protect ya Neck” for more on the cold killer label.
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Ruffhouse Records was a Philly-based label best known for Cypress Hill and The Fugees. They also put out Nas’s first single, “Halftime”.
The label folded in the 90s but relaunched in 2012 with a new Beanie Sigel album.
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Def Jam, the Motown of Hip Hop, handled some of the golden era’s biggest hitters: Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Slick Rick and many more. They also released Method Man’s Tical, the first Wu-Tang solo album.
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A shot at Tommy Boy Records, who gave RZA (then called Prince Rakeem) his first deal. The label wasn’t feeling RZA’s material and the partnership yielded just one single.
After his disappointing experience with Tommy Boy (and GZA’s with Cold Chillin') RZA started putting together Wu-Tang Clan. He also had the idea for Gravediggaz, a super-group made up of former Tommy Boy artists. On the first Gravediggaz album, 6 Feet Deep, Tommy Boy is also called out in a skit.
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The riff, the lift, the gift, the if, the fifth
The shift, the spliff, that's in control to hold
To fold, to bold and make an ache and take and fake
Woo, and I'm still too great Tim Dog – Fuck Compton
What is this?
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What is this?
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Capitol Records, the label that MC Serch once derided as “nothing but MC Black & Decker”. As well as MC Household Tool, Capitol brought us the post-Def Jam Beastie Boys and the post-Sleeping Bag Mantronix.
Rugged records is also a record label so the play on words continue
950
Wu-Tang was also a record label (CEO: RZA) that initially distributed Protect Ya Neck, but then the whole 36 Chambers album was distributed by Loud.