Best Posts: Which label had bigger impact on hip hop: Interscope or Def Jam?

  1. Ricky
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    Ricky FORUM BOY SUMMER

    Feb 9, 2021
    I mean... Did we get Interscope Vendetta???
     
    #10
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    Aug 4, 2025
  2. Tone Riggz
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    Tone Riggz There's No Cure For Being A C*nt

    Feb 8, 2021
    Rap needed Def Jam in order to go from being a potential fad to a viable genre.
     
    Aug 4, 2025
  3. reservoirGod
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    reservoirGod reckless adventurer.

    Feb 8, 2021
    I honestly think of Interscope as more of rock label... since it felt like all the biggest mid 90's rock bands come out of Interscope.

    Def Jam was THE rap label for at least two decades.
     
    Aug 4, 2025
  4. Chrollo
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    Chrollo

    Feb 9, 2021
    There is no Interscope: Fight For NY. Case closed.
     
    Aug 4, 2025
  5. Sav Stanfield
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    Feb 9, 2021
    Interesting comparison but Def Jam by miles. They laid hip hop's commercial foundation and still to this day pump out massive projects from the biggest names in the game. Interscope's probably their closest challenger but the catalog and impact pales in comparison
     
    Aug 4, 2025
  6. icecube
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    icecube West Coast is the Best Coast

    Feb 9, 2021
    I honestly can't answer this, I think it's completely even between the 2 of them. Interscope, from a hip-hop point of view, seems like a shorter time lived but gave us the bigger artists (Tupac, Dre, Snoop, Em). Whereas Roc seems like much longer legacy. Yes, you can add Jay and Kanye into the list of greats but I think Interscope's are bigger than Roc's.

    So yeah, it's a tie.
     
    Aug 4, 2025
  7. Kujaku67
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    Feb 8, 2021
    That's a great point.
     
    Aug 4, 2025
  8. Lil Squeed
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    Lil Squeed French Montana Stan

    Feb 9, 2021
    Def Jam also had like several branches gave us artists (Def Jam South with Ludacris, I thought there was like a Def Jam Islands or something that brought Rihanna?)
     
    #19
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  9. Kujaku67
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    Feb 9, 2021
    The soundtrack to GTA: San Andreas was released by Interscope.
     
    Aug 4, 2025
  10. Spider Man
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    Spider Man With the hyphen

    Feb 9, 2021
    I'd say Def Jam in the US and Interscope worldwide.
     
    Aug 4, 2025
  11. Ordinary Joel
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    Ordinary Joel Happiness begins when selfishness ends

    Feb 9, 2021
    Wish I could change my vote after some great points were made in this thread :wow2:
     
    #9
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  12. Winter
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    Winter Super Comfy

    Feb 8, 2021
    It's Def Jam, easily. They put rap on the map.
     
    Aug 4, 2025
  13. Kujaku67
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    Feb 8, 2021
    Def Jam gave us LL Cool J, Beasties, Jay-Z, Kanye, DMX, Ja Rule, Slick Rick, Redman, Big Sean, Public Enemy, etc.

    Interscope gave us Tupac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, Eminem, D12, 50 Cent, G-Unit, The Game, Kendrick Lamar, etc.

    Which label had more impact on hip hop?

    I say Interscope played a bigger role in making hip hop mainstream/global(Eminem, Snoop, Pac, and 50 are arguably the most famous rappers in the world to this day) while Def Jam had more direct influence on the genre itself(especially LL, Jay, and Kanye)
     
    Aug 4, 2025