anderswolleck

At the beginning of every new year one cant help but examine the past and thats what were doing with this interview with Stacy Gueraseva, author of Def Jam, Inc: Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, and the Extraordinary Story of the World's Most Influential Hip-Hop Label. Def Jam has long been a powerful force, first in the hip-hop arena in the 80s and then later being a player in all kinds of different music. But not much is known about the early days of Def Jam beyond rare comments from co-founders Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. Thats what makes Guerasevas book so fascinating. I got a chance to talk with Gueraseva when she was on her book tour.

Buy Def Jam, Inc: Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, and the Extraordinary Story of the World's Most Influential Hip-Hop Label

Daniel Robert Epstein: I bet you never thought youd have a press day for a book like this.

Stacy Gueraseva: [laughs] Its weird being on the other side. Im usually the one asking the questions. Now Im being questioned.

DRE: Are you giving people good answers since you know how tough it is?

SG: Yeah, I think so. It helps to know what answer works and what doesnt. I try not to trail off too much.

DRE: So this is not an official Def Jam authorized book.

SG: No, its not. Its not official authorized by Def Jam, but in a way it is because Russell [Simmons] and Rick [Rubin] are all part of it, but its not like the record label commissioned me to do this book. I dont think it wouldve worked that way because it wouldve been too biased. I wouldnt have been able to describe some of the crazy stuff that has happened and the low periods in the story if it was a Def Jam Records authorized book.

DRE: Youve known Russell for a long time.

SG: Yeah, I was the editor of Oneworld magazine which was his magazine. He didnt own it, but he was the editorial director so I definitely took a lot of guidance from him.

DRE: Did everyone know you were going to be telling the real deal about Def Jam?

SG: Pretty much. I didnt really mention the idea to Russell before I got the book deal. I was very protective of the idea so I didnt want him to hear it and be like Oh great. Let me get Nelson George to write it. So I was like, let me just do it on my own and then Ill hook Russell in, which is exactly what it happened. When he and I did the interview, it wasnt a priority for him because he was busy with his philanthropy and the Hip-Hop Summit. But he was totally open to me saying whatever about Def Jam. Also since he knew who I was then he knew that ultimately I was on his side just because it is such a great inspiring story. Its hard to bad mouth just because it is a positive story with inspiring outcomes. So I dont think he really had much to worry about.

DRE: Since you are a hip-hop fan, what most surprised you about Def Jam that you didnt already know?

SG: What really surprised me was just how disorganized they were in the early days. What a small, intimate operation it was and just how crazy it was. At one point Def Jam was really invincible during the peak of 1987-88 when the Beastie Boys exploded and LL Cool J exploded and Public Enemy was at this really high point but if you went into their offices it was the craziest, most disorganized place. People didnt believe that it was the legendary Def Jam Records and they were really shocked and surprised. So what surprised me the most was how they managed to be successful while running such a disorganized ship.

DRE: When did they finally become organized?

SG: When Lyor Cohen really stepped in and took more of a leadership role because before he was on the management company side. Everyone had their hands in everything but he had some influence over the record label part of it, but it wasnt until Rick Rubin left that Lyor really stepped into a more prominent role. He wanted to make it into a real record label with real departments whereas before it still had a boutique label feel. That happened when they moved into the Broadway office.

DRE: Were there people who thought that them becoming a real label was a bad thing?

SG: Yeah and in fact thats a key chapter in the book. It goes through that transitional period of trying to become a real label and signing a whole lot of artists. Thats when Rush Associated Labels was formed and a lot of people felt that in their attempts to imitate the corporate label structure, they lost some of their essence and flavor. It got so confusing at one point that the Def Jam logo disappeared from the letterhead and peoples business cards had Rush Associated Labels on it. So Def Jam experienced a hardcore cold period. One guy even told me a joke about how he went over to the Profile Records offices, which was near Def Jams office and one guy was like How do you keep a beer cold? You put it in between two Def Jam 12-inches. They spread themselves a little too thin.

DRE: What do you see in the future for them?

SG: It can only keep growing. So far history has shown that any setback that they encounter, they manage to pull themselves out of it. They always manage to pick themselves up and now the brand is so strong and its so identified with hip-hop and the hip-hop lifestyle that its always going to be around in one form or another. The industry is so unpredictable right now that for all we know Def Jam Records could get dissolved, but I think the logo itself will always be around in one form or another.

DRE: Was there anyone who didnt want to talk?

SG: Yes. There were definitely a few people who didnt want to go on record for one reason or another and theres nothing you can do to convince them. The Beastie Boys were one and I was really hoping they would talk. At one point they were interested and then they changed their minds. Really the hardest part was finding a lot of people who were part of the history early on but then just disappeared. One example was L.A. Posse, the two producers who worked with LL Cool J. I knew they were really important but no one knew where they were and it took a little while to find them and there were at least 20 other people like them who were missing in action.

DRE: Where were L.A. Posse?

SG: They were living their lives in LA but they just werent part of the industry.

DRE: How did someone like you who was born in Russia get to be such a big hip-hop head?

SG: It really wasnt that strange. I grew up in New York and it was just always around. I grew up in the mid-80s I was like ten so I couldnt really be going out there to clubs and experiencing the culture first-hand. But there were people I met who exposed me to it. Most of the young kids growing up in New York were into hip-hop and thats how I became exposed to it and then just developed it in college.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

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