Def Jam, Inc.

Praise

“Sucker MC’s, ill communication and a nation of millions mark the history of hip-hop’s most influential label, as illustrated in these excerpts from Stacy Gueraseva’s new book, Def Jam, Inc.”–Time Out New York

“[Def Jam, Inc.is] the story of a label that shaped, then reflected, then shaped hip-hop again as it grew from a local…genre into the new pop.…Significantly, it’s also a multiracial story–a plotline often ignored in the telling of hip-hop’s history.…”–The New York Sun

“[A] fast-paced history of ingenuity, scandal and pure Hip-Hop, revealing the never-before-told story of the groundbreaking record label.”–The Source

“Chock-full of interviews with anyone who ever had antyhing to do with the label, Def Jam, Inc. spins you from the rough-and-tumble salad days…to the late 1990’s, when the people who made Def Jam blew up, sold out, and cashed in on mainstreaming hip-hop.”–Maxim “Book of the Month”

“[Def Jam, Inc.] chronicles the label’s development from its 1984 beginning to the signing of hip-hop greats such as LL COOL J, the BEASTIE BOYS and DMX.”–Rolling Stone

“A vivid, if somewhat academic, read, Def Jam, Inc. offers a lesson of how to run–and how not to run–an indie label.”–Herald News (NJ)

“Like the best-executed music biographies, Def Jam, Inc. reads like a blueprint for success as well as a colorful portrait of an epic story’s hyper-dynamic characters.”–Boston Herald

“[Def Jam, Inc.] is chock full of tidbits about the inner workings of the company.”–Mosaec

“If you love hip-hop and/or popular culture, Def Jam, Inc. is definitely the book to read.”–New York Cool


”Hip-hop devotee and expert Gueraseva writes about one of the genre’s most important labels with an insightful combination of doting love and cold, hard reality. . . . an inspiring study of visionaries who found success beyond their wildest dreams.” Publishers Weekly