Hip-O Records is a record label, currently part of Universal Music Group, which specializes in reissues and compilations. Their Hip-O Select label is currently in the midst of releasing the Complete Motown Singles, a series of fourteen box sets which include both sides of every 45 from Motown Records and its subsidiaries during that company's Detroit era. Their catalog also includes a number of previously unreleased albums and compilations from the Motown vaults.

The name "Hip-O Records" is a play on the word "hip" and the already-existing Rhino Records. In fact, the genesis of the formation of Hip-O Records has its roots in Universal Music Group Chairman & CEO Doug Morris' relationship with Rhino. As Co-Chairman of Atlantic Records (part of the Warner Music Group) during the early 1990s, Morris observed Rhino's great financial success at cross country rivals Capitol/EMI. EMI had taken an equity position in Rhino Records as an ideal two way relationship. Rhino provided invaluable assistance in the packaging and marketing of EMI's catalog, and EMI provided Rhino with increasingly difficult to access master recordings. Their association had been extremely prestigious and profitable for both. Morris scooped in during a 1992 renegotiation snafu and took a 50% stake in Rhino, which only energized the profitability and success of both.

John Kapelos (born March 8, 1956) is a Canadian actor from London, Ontario. He is best known for his portrayals of janitor Carl Reed in The Breakfast Club and Detective Donald Schanke in Forever Knight.

An alumnus of The Second City, Chicago, John Kapelos’ theatrical work spans eight years from Second City’s Touring Company (1978–1982) to six revues as a member of the famed Resident Company (1982–1986), and finally Second City’s critically acclaimed return to off-Broadway in Orwell That Ends Well at the former Village Gate in New York City.

His movie highlights include 1999’s The Deep End of the Ocean, which received praise from both The New York Times and Roger Ebert from The Chicago Sun Times. His appearance in three John Hughes’s films: The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Weird Science earned him fame in the 1980s as a character actor.

Other film works include Schepisi’s Roxanne, with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah, and Gary Marshall’s Nothing in Common, opposite Tom Hanks, and Disney’s Stick It show his improvisational and comedic timing skills. Whereas roles in The Boost, with James Woods, and Internal Affairs with Richard Gere, present his adaptability for dramatic roles.

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) and The Massacre (2005). His album Get Rich or Die Tryin' has been certified eight times platinum by the RIAA.

Born in the South Jamaica of Queens, New York City, Jackson began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic. After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000. After releasing his album Guess Who's Back? in 2002, Jackson was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records. With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre, who produced his first major commercial successes, Jackson became one of the world's highest selling rappers. In 2003, he founded the record label G-Unit Records, which signed several successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.