The Beginnings of Def Jam

Reminiscing over the good ol' days of hip hop never gets old. And the folks at Def Jam seem to think so as well.

In celebration of their first 25 years, Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label ($38) is being released October 4th. From the collaborative effort of Cey Adams, the label’s founding creative director, and Bill Adler, the label’s founding publicist, this book is a narrative of one of the great record labels and its widespread cultural influences.

Featuring over 300 pages of behind the scenes photos, album cover art, advertisements, press clips, interviews from the likes of the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and Jay-Z to name a few, and a preface by two of music’s most influential tastemakers, Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin, Def Jam Recordings is an enjoyable trip down memory lane.

Pre-order at Amazon.