Def Jam Recordings
Parent company	Universal Music Group
Founded	1984
Founder	Rick Rubin Russell Simmons
Distributor(s)	The Island Def Jam Music Group (In the US) Mercury Records (Outside the US)
Genre	Various
Country of origin	United States
Location	New York City
Official Website	defjam.com

Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group. In the UK, the label takes on the name Def Jam UK and is operated through Mercury Music Group, while in Japan, it is Def Jam Japan operating through Universal Sigma Music.

Company history[link]

Def Jam was created by Rick Rubin in his dorm room in Weinstein Hall at New York University^[1] and its first release was a single by his punk-rock group Hose. Russell Simmons joined Rubin shortly after they were introduced to each other by Vincent Gallo.^[2] The first single released with a Def Jam Recordings logo was T La Rock & Jazzy Jay's "It's Yours." The first releases with Def Jam Recordings catalog numbers were LL Cool J's "I Need a Beat" and the Beastie Boys' "Rock Hard," both in 1984. The singles sold well, eventually leading to a distribution deal with CBS Records (which would later become Sony Music Entertainment) through Columbia Records the following year. This created a short-lived subsidiary label called OBR Records, catered toward R&B artists — the first artist signed to that imprint was Oran "Juice" Jones, who enjoyed success with his hit single "The Rain". Def Jam also signed its first and only thrash metal band, Slayer, in 1986, and the band's debut album was one of only two Def Jam releases to be distributed through Geffen Records, as opposed to Columbia. As the decade drew to a close, the label signed Public Enemy, whose controversial lyrical content garnered the company both critical acclaim and disdain. Lyor Cohen became president of Def Jam in 1988, after winning a power struggle with Rubin, who would shortly thereafter leave the company to form Def American Recordings (now known as American Recordings). Rubin would take Slayer with him to Def American in its initial stages.

Def Jam under PolyGram[link]

By 1992, despite recent multi-platinum selling releases from LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and EPMD, Def Jam ran into severe financial troubles and was faced with folding. However, in 1994, PolyGram purchased Sony's 50% stake in Def Jam Recordings — subsequently bringing the label into its fold. Following PolyGram’s purchase, Def Jam distributed the Violator Records signed artist Warren G's Regulate... G Funk Era album, which went triple platinum and brought much-needed revenue to Def Jam through its distribution deal with Violator.^[3]

PolyGram acquired an additional 9.8% in Def Jam Recordings in 1995, further strengthening its ownership of Def Jam. Shortly thereafter, Rush Associated Labels was renamed Def Jam Music Group. The label remained profitable as its veteran star LL Cool J released his successful album Mr. Smith in 1995. The label later signed Foxy Brown, whose debut album Ill Na Na became a platinum seller in 1997.

Def Jam under Universal Music Group[link]

In 1998, PolyGram was purchased by Seagram, and the MCA and PolyGram families of labels merged into Universal Music Group. Following MCA's takeover of PolyGram, it purchased the remaining interest of Def Jam Recordings from Russell Simmons for a reported $100 million. Universal merged Def Jam with Island Records to form The Island Def Jam Music Group. In spite of the formation of IDJMG, Def Jam and Island continue to operate as separate imprints underneath the bigger umbrella.

Lyor Cohen was appointed president of IDJMG, and Kevin Liles succeeded him as president of Def Jam. In 1999, Def Jam created an R&B spin-off label called Def Soul Recordings, which inherited many of Island Records' urban artists (and also some from Mercury Records), including Dru Hill and its lead singer Sisqó, The Isley Brothers and Kelly Price. Def Soul also issued recordings by Musiq, Montell Jordan, Case, 112, Patti LaBelle, and Christina Milian. Island's 4th & B'way Records was also folded into Def Jam.

Also in 1999, the label also began distributing releases by Murder Inc. Records, run by former Def Jam executive Irv Gotti. Murder Inc.'s roster of artists would include Ja Rule, Ashanti, Lloyd, Vita. The following year, it launched another subsidiary, Def Jam South, which focused on Southern rap and distributed releases from labels such as Disturbing tha Peace, whose artists have included Ludacris, Chingy, and Bobby Valentino. Russell Simmons tapped Texas-born and raised rap legend Scarface (aka Brad Jordan) as the original head of Def Jam South. After about a 4-year run at Def Jam South, Scarface negotiated a release from the company in 2003. The label is currently run by Miami-based DJ Khaled.

Def Jam in the 2000s[link]

In 2001, Lyor Cohen announced Def Jam Germany, the first international Def Jam company. This increased the label's presence around the world. Def Jam Germany signed German rappers Spezializtz, and Philly MC. The label was located in Berlin and opened on May 23, 2000. In addition to signing and marketing local artists, Def Jam Germany also marketed all U.S. signed Def Jam artists in the German territory.

The second international label is a Japanese branch, Def Jam Japan (デフ・ジャム・ジャパン, Defu Jamu Japan^?), also founded in 2000.^[4] Its artist roster include AI, Teriyaki Boyz and Nitro Microphone Underground.

In 2003, Def Soul was absorbed into its Def Jam parent. A year later, Murder Inc. became the center of a money laundering investigation involving illegal profits from drug trade,^[5] leading to the label's eventual release from its distribution contract by 2005. Roc-A-Fella Records was sold to the company in 2004, by which time it had launched the career of producer-turned-rapper Kanye West.

DMX helped the company to great heights during 1998 and 1999 selling millions of records and revived hardcore hip hop during this time. The same year, Cohen left IDJMG for Warner Music Group, and was replaced by former Arista executive L.A. Reid. An unhappy Liles eventually decided to follow Cohen to Warner.^[6] A bidding war for Jay-Z's contract began, and Reid appointed Jay-Z president of Def Jam.^[6]

Under Jay-Z's leadership, Def Jam launched new successful acts such as contemporary R&B singers like Rihanna, Ne-Yo, and Kanye West. Jay-Z's contract as president of Def Jam was not renewed, forcing him to step down at the end of 2007, remaining with Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings as a recording artist.^[7] Following Jay-Z's resignation as president, L.A. Reid took over leadership of the label, as opposed to hiring a replacement, and promptly signed rapper Luke Death, who was dropped months later, before releasing any music. It was announced in early June 2008 that Def Jam A&R executive Shakir Stewart, credited with bringing Rick Ross to the label, would take over as vice president of Def Jam. Stewart committed suicide on November 1, 2008.^[8][9]

On March 14, 2012, it was announced that former Warner Bros. Records executive Joie Manda will become the first President of Def Jam since Jay-Z. ^[10]

Artists[link]

• List of current Def Jam Recordings artists
• List of former Def Jam Recordings artists

Def Jam Recordings discography[link]

• Def Jam Recordings discography

References[link]

External links[link]

• Interview with Shakir Stewart, HitQuarters Nov 5

This article focuses too much on specific examples, without clearly discussing its abstract general subject. Please help by consulting secondary sources for general statements made about the subject and improving this article by adding more general information. The talk page may contain suggestions. (August 2011)

Wes Anderson
Anderson in Berlin, 2005
Born	Wesley Wales Mortimer Anderson (1969-05-01) May 1, 1969 (age 43) Houston, Texas, United States
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Texas at Austin
Occupation	Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Actor
Years active	1994–present
Influenced by	François Truffaut, Satyajit Ray, Hal Ashby[1][2]

Wesley Wales Mortimer "Wes" Anderson (born May 1, 1969)^[3][4][5][6] is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer of features, short films and commercials. He was nominated for a 2001 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Royal Tenenbaums and a 2010 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Fantastic Mr. Fox. His films employ similar aesthetics, using a deliberate, methodical cinematography, with mostly primary colors. His soundtracks feature folk and early rock music, in particular classic British rock. Anderson's films combine dry humor with poignant portrayals of flawed characters – often a mix of the wealthy and the working class. He is also known for working with many of the same actors and crew on varying projects.

Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom opened the Cannes Film Festival 2012.^[7]

Early life[link]

This section requires expansion.

Wesley Wales Mortimer Anderson was born on May 1, 1969 in Houston, Texas.^[8] His father, Melver Anderson, ran an advertising and public relations company, and his mother, Texas Anne Burroughs, was an archaeologist who later became a real estate agent. Anderson grew up with his two brothers, Eric and Mel, but their parents divorced when Anderson was only eight. Anderson would later describe the divorce as "the most crucial event of my brothers and my growing up." This situation gave him the premise for The Royal Tenenbaums's story.^[9] As a child, the young Anderson directed many Super 8 movies starring himself and his brothers. He went to Westchester High School and St. John's School, a private school in Houston featured in Anderson's film Rushmore. There he wrote and directed many plays for the school's theater. After graduating from St. John's, Wes Anderson attended the University of Texas at Austin. There he met Owen Wilson, who became an essential writing partner and cast member in Anderson's filmography. Anderson and Wilson met during a playwriting class and became roommates. Then they worked on a script for a full-length movie called Bottle Rocket. Anderson earned his B.A. in philosophy in 1991 and released the short film version of Bottle Rocket in 1992. ^[10]

Film career[link]

Anderson's films feature many of the same actors, crew members, and other collaborators. For example, the Wilson brothers (Owen, Luke, and Andrew), Bill Murray,^[11] Willem Dafoe, Seymour Cassel, Anjelica Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Kumar Pallana and son Dipak Pallana, Stephen Dignan and Brian Tenenbaum, and Eric Chase Anderson (Anderson's brother). Other frequent collaborators include writer Noah Baumbach (who co-wrote The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox, with Anderson co-producing his film The Squid and the Whale), Owen Wilson (who co-wrote three of Anderson's feature films), cinematographer Robert Yeoman (A.S.C.), music supervisor Randall Poster, and composer Mark Mothersbaugh.

Anderson has acknowledged that he went to India to film his 2007 film The Darjeeling Limited partly as a tribute to the legendary Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, whose "films have also inspired all my other movies in different ways" (the film is dedicated to him).^[12] Jason Schwartzman reunited with Anderson for the The Darjeeling Limited, acting as well as co-writing the script with Anderson and Roman Coppola.^[13] In September 2006, following the disappointing commercial and critical reception of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen released a tongue-in-cheek "letter of intervention" of Anderson's artistic "malaise." Proclaiming themselves to be fans of "World Cinema" and Anderson in particular, they offered Anderson their soundtrack services for his The Darjeeling Limited, including lyrics for a title track.^[14]

In 2008, Wes Anderson was hired to write the screenplay of the American adaptation of My Best Friend, a French film, for producer Brian Grazer, Anderson's first draft was titled "The Rosenthaler Suite". Anderson's stop-motion animation adaptation of the Roald Dahl book Fantastic Mr. Fox was released in 2009.

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese is an admirer of Anderson's, praising Bottle Rocket and Rushmore in an Esquire magazine article.^[15]

Wes Anderson has launched the acting careers of such stars as Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Jason Schwartzman.

Advertising[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011)

In September 2007, Wes Anderson oversaw a series of six commercials for AT&T: "College Kid", "Reporter", "Mom", "Architect", "Actor" and "Businessman." The campaign also includes online, print and outdoor advertising. These TV spots are part of AT&T's "Your Seamless World" national campaign from BBDO/New York. Each ad embodies Anderson's distinct style by focusing on a subject and having the environment around them change. Each of the six AT&T commercials introduces us to a different AT&T customer. As each of these people comes before the camera and talks about the different, far-reaching locales where he or she needs cell-phone service, the visuals behind the customer change dramatically to reflect the different destinations.

The "Reporter" piece was subject to controversy when several Lebanese-American groups protested its airing as ignorant given the complex and sensitive nature of the Lebanese political situation. The ad portrayed photojournalists dodging bullets on a Beirut rooftop while the city was being bombed. It was subsequently pulled from rotation after the assassination of Antoine Ghanem on September 19, 2007 with AT&T and BBDO issuing public apologies. ^[16]

Anderson starred in and directed an American Express "My Life, My Card" commercial, which chronicled the "filming" of an action movie starring Jason Schwartzman. Anderson acts as if he is being interviewed by someone from American Express for the ad, while walking around completing tasks on set, a scene paying homage to the movie Day for Night by François Truffaut. It was aired on television and in movie theaters in both a short and extended version, during and shortly after the theatrical release of The Life Aquatic.

In 2008, Wes Anderson teamed up with Brad Pitt for a commercial for Japanese cell phone company SoftBank, filmed in one continuous shot in a French seaside town. The commercial takes inspiration from Jacques Tati's Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot.

Filmography[link]

• Bottle Rocket (short film co-written with Owen Wilson) (1992)
• Bottle Rocket (co-written with Owen Wilson) (1996)
• Rushmore (co-written with Owen Wilson) (1998)
• The Royal Tenenbaums (co-written with Owen Wilson) (2001)
• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (co-written with Noah Baumbach) (2004)
• Hotel Chevalier (short film, created as a prologue to The Darjeeling Limited) (2007)
• The Darjeeling Limited (co-written with Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola) (2007)
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (co-written with Noah Baumbach) (2009)
• Moonrise Kingdom (co-written with Roman Coppola) (2012)^[17]

Recurring collaborators[link]

Collaborator	Bottle Rocket (1996)	Rushmore (1998)	The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)	The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)	The Darjeeling Limited (2007)	Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)	Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Waris Ahluwalia				N	N
Eric Chase Anderson		N	N	N	N	N	N
Noah Baumbach				N		N
Adrien Brody					N	N
Seymour Cassel		N	N	N
Roman Coppola				N	N	N	N
Brian Cox		N				N
Stephen Dignan	N	N	N
Willem Dafoe				N		N
Michael Gambon				N		N
Anjelica Huston			N	N	N
Bill Murray		N	N	N	N	N	N
Mark Mothersbaugh	N	N	N	N			N
Alexandre Desplat						N	N
Dipak Pallana	N	N	N
Kumar Pallana	N	N	N		N
Jason Schwartzman		N			N	N	N
Brian Tenenbaum	N	N	N
Andrew Wilson	N	N	N
Luke Wilson	N	N	N
Owen Wilson	N	N	N	N	N	N
Wallace Wolodarsky		N			N	N

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wes Anderson

External links[link]

• Wes Anderson at Unsung Films
• Wes Anderson at AllRovi
• Wes Anderson at the Internet Movie Database
• Tête-à-Tête with Nic Harcourt at Los Angeles Times Magazine
• "Into The Deep", in-depth Anderson profile at The Guardian 12 February 2005
• "Wes Anderson", brief profile by Martin Scorsese. Esquire.
• Interview with Wes Anderson for The Darjeeling Limited at Ioncinema.com
• Wes Anderson Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos (Video)
• "Notes on Quirky" Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism, No.1, 2010