Rawkus Records
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Rawkus Records is an independent hip hop record label that enjoyed considerable exposure and massive success in the late '90s. Rawkus was established in 1996 by Brian Brater and Jarret Meyer, with financial backing from a school friend, James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch. Due to their connections to a source of money, Rawkus had the budget to advertise as well as the big hip hop labels. In 1999 it entered into a distribution deal with Interscope/Geffen, whose parent company was Universal Music.
Rawkus was responsible for bringing fame to many underground hip hop acts such as Sir Menelik; Company Flow; the High and Mighty; Mos Def and Talib Kweli (a duo known as Black Star), Pharoahe Monch, Skillz, and DJs and producers such as Hi Tek and DJ Evil Dee, as well as resurrecting Hip Hop legend Kool G Rap. They helped launch the conscious hip-hop movement through these artists and their influential compilations "The Lyricist Lounge" and "Soundbombing," which each had worldwide tours.
In 2002 Rawkus inked a joint venture deal MCA to take their underground sound mainstream, with their roster including Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, The Roots, and Common. Soon after joining with MCA, MCA folded and Interscope/Geffen bought Rawkus and attempted to shift the focus from underground acts producing what they want to acts producing what Interscope/Geffen was accustomed to.
In January of 2004 it was reported that Geffen had opted not to renew their contract and that Rawkus Records was moving on from its initial acts, ending an era. In an interview with hip-hop news site AllHipHop.com, Hi Tek said, “They took chances and gave their life to underground hip-hop when no one else would. I really appreciate them. I think Rawkus was part of keeping real hip-hop music alive in its down times.”
In July of 2005 it was announced that Rawkus had re-emerged with a new distribution deal with RED Distribution, the independent distribution arm of the SonyBMG family, with releases planned for 2006. New releases are scheduled from hip hop roadsters The Procussions and Chicagos's newest lyrical sensation Naledge.
Rawkus compilations
- Soundbombing (1997)
- Lyricist Lounge, Volume One (1998)
- Soundbombing 2 (1999)
- Lyricist Lounge 2 (2000)
- Soundbombing 3 (2002)
- (2005)
See also
External links
- [RAWKUS.COM] - Official site (requires Macromedia Flash)
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