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

Started by Kujaku67, Feb 8, 2021, in Music Add to Reading List

Which label impacted hip hop more?

Poll closed Mar 10, 2021.
  1. Interscope

    40.0%
  2. Def Jam

    60.0%
  1. 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)
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  2. 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.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  3. Kujaku67
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    Feb 8, 2021
    That's true but they still released some of the most vital rap albums in the genre. You're right that Def Jam was the more quintessential rap label though.
     
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  4. Kujaku67
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    Feb 8, 2021
    Interscope may not have produced as much rap talent as Def Jam but look at what the rap artists in Interscope accomplished.
    1. 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg have the highest first week sales for any debut albums in history.
    2. Eminem is the best selling artist of the 21st century, regardless of genre.
    3. Kendrick Lamar is the most critically acclaimed artist in the 21st Century.
    4. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg popularized G Funk which defined a good portion of 90's rap
    5. Worldwide, when people think of rap, they think of Eminem, Tupac, 50 Cent, and Snoop. Jay, Kanye, DMX, LL, Beasties, etc. aren't even half as famous as them outside English-Speaking countries.
     
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  5. Detroit24
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    Feb 8, 2021
     
    #5
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  6. 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.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  7. Kujaku67
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    Feb 8, 2021
    That's a great point.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  8. Winter
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    Winter Super Comfy

    Feb 8, 2021
    It's Def Jam, easily. They put rap on the map.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  9. Ordinary Joel
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    Ordinary Joel Found a new way to flow

    Feb 9, 2021
    Wish I could change my vote after some great points were made in this thread :wow2:
     
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  10. Ricky
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    Ricky Hip-Hop CEO ™

    Feb 9, 2021
    I mean... Did we get Interscope Vendetta???
     
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  11. 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.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  12. 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.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  13. Kujaku67
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    Feb 9, 2021
    The soundtrack to GTA: San Andreas was released by Interscope.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  14. Kujaku67
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    Feb 9, 2021
    I think it
    Very true. At the same time, though, Death Row and Shady/Aftermath kinda did the same thing on arguably a greater scale.

    For example, the first rap album my dad ever bought was The Chronic and Get Rich or Die Tryin was the first rap album I ever bought.

    I'm willing to bet more people here(including myself) first got into rap through an Interscope rapper than a Def Jam one.
     
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  15. Ricky
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    Ricky Hip-Hop CEO ™

    Feb 9, 2021
    f--- me, you're right
     
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  16. Chrollo
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    Chrollo ♱ كرولو

    Feb 9, 2021
    There is no Interscope: Fight For NY. Case closed.
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  17. 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
     
    Mar 29, 2024
  18. Lil Squeed
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    Lil Squeed French Montana Stan

    Feb 9, 2021
    lmao was just about to say that I don't remember pouring hours into Interscope: Fight for New York
     
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  19. 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?)
     
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  20. Kujaku67
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    Feb 9, 2021
    Yup. I think Def Jam has much better variety of rappers than Interscope who had had different lanes and reached different people.

    Interscope's rappers reached higher highs though. Nobody's reaching Eminem's global impact/sales, Kendrick's critical acclaim, and Tupac's respect.
     
    #20
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