Russell Simmons on 25 Years of Def Jam

It’s the story of a record label that defined hip-hop and impacted the music industry forever. In the 25 years since its founding, Def Jam Recordings has built up an incredible roster of recording artists, influencing all areas of culture, fashion, lifestyle, cinema and art, to become the sound of young America, akin to Motown in the sixties. The first single to be released with a Def Jam Recordings logo was T La Rock & Jazzy Jay’s “It’s Yours.” Russell Simmons, founder and chairman of GlobalGrind.com  and co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, looks back at a quarter century of what has turned into a musical  institution.