Rawkus Records
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Rawkus Records is an independent hip hop record label that enjoyed considerable exposure 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 and as such they were able to gain underground credibility (advertising is not a real factor in gaining credibility, but helps). 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, Talib Kweli (collectively known as Black Star), Pharoahe Monch, Skillz, Big L, and DJs and producers such as Hi Tek and 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 folder and Interscope/Geffen bought Rawkus and shifted the focus from underground acts producing what they want to acts producing what the labels want.
According to El-P, member of Company Flow, the cause of the implosion of Rawkus was its focus on selling records rather than making music that these acts wanted to make. In other words, Rawkus wanted their musicians to change their style of music to suit sales projections rather than the fans who bought all of Rawkus's releases. Company Flow left Rawkus over a dispute and El-P then formed Def Jux, what he thought Rawkus was supposed to be.
In January of 2004 it was reported that Geffen had opted not to renew their contract and that Rawkus Records was closing its doors, 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.