Music labels are one of the most vital cornerstones in hip-hop culture. Over the last few decades, Death Row, Cash Money, Shady, Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam, and countless other imprints have blessed us with the best of the best from new artists to amazing albums.
Almost every rapper who has succeeded in the game feels the need to have their own label with their own artists, separated from their label parents, and that's what makes the culture beautiful. In California, Dr. Dre stepped off Death Row Records to build his Aftermath empire, which later gave us Eminem, who then formed Shady Records and signed 50 Cent. Far away from the West Coast, Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella was once home to Kanye West before Ye formed his own GOOD Music, and the domino effect goes on and on.
On this list, we're counting down some of the most influential labels in hip-hop history and ranked them based on their line-up power, influence, artistry, and commercial performance.
12 OVO Sound
After a successful debut in the early 2010s under Lil Wayne's guidance, Drake teamed up with his longtime producer, Noah '40' Shebib, who produced Drizzy's So Far Gone mixtape, to form OVO Sound. Based in Drake's hometown of Toronto, OVO Sound, which stands of October's Very Own, is home to some of the best Canadian artists from PartyNextDoor and Roy Woods to Majid Jordan. It has over 13 studio albums in their discography catalog.
11 G.O.O.D Music
Following the successful breakout with The College Breakout under Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella, Kanye formed GOOD Music, which stands for Getting Out Our Dreams, in the same year. The original line-up consisted of Kanye himself, John Legend, and Common. The label is responsible for six number-one Billboard 200 albums; Finding Forever, Dark Sky Paradise, The Life of Pablo, I Decided, Ye, and Jesus Is King. Some of the finest hip-hop artists from Big Sean, Pusha T, Q-Tip, and Teyana Taylor found their home under GOOD Music's flag.
10 Young Money Entertainment
There is no talking about Drake or Kanye West's labels without mentioning the man who inspired them: Lil Wayne. The New Orleans rapper founded Young Money Entertainment in 2005 before subsequently handing off the presidency throne to Cortez Bryant.
Weezy's 2008 album Tha Carter III became the label's first-ever platinum album before being followed by 13 other records from various artists in the next couple of years. Now, Young Money is home to Nicki Minaj, Drake, Christina Millan, and many others.
9 Top Dawg Entertainment
Indie record Top Dawg Entertainment was founded by producer Anthony 'Top Dawg' Tiffith, who had previously worked with the likes of The Game and Juvenile back in the 1990s. In 2003, the honcho had Kendrick Lamar's debut mixtape, who was only 15 at that time, in his hands, and the rest is history. Anthony Tiffith ended up signing him, and they finally made their big break when they signed Cali-based rapper Jay Rock to their roster in 2005. TDE is now a part of the Aftermath Entertainment family and serves as the home of Kendrick, Jay, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, SZA, Isaiah Rashad, and many others.
8 Cash Money Records
We can not talk about influential hip-hop labels without leaving Cash Money Records off. Founded in 1991 by two William brothers, Bryan (Birdman) and Ronald (Slim Don), Cash Money the label that gave us one of the most influential rappers in the game, Lil Wayne. He was signed to the label in 1996 at the age of 13.
Now, the label owns 12 number-one albums and shelters Blueface, Young Thug, Cory Gunz, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and many others.
7 Shady Records
After a successful debut with Dr. Dre's Aftermath with The Slim Shady LP, as the rapper looked for a way to put his D12 group on the map, Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg founded Shady Records in 1999. D12 became the first act they signed, which later followed by Obie Trice, 50 Cent, Stat Quo, Bobby Creekwater, and Cashis.
After Eminem sobered up, he started rebuilding his Shady Records empire and signed some of the fresh-est rappers in the game: former XXL's Freshman Yellawolf and supergroup Slaughterhouse. Now, Shady is the home of Compton-based Boogie and Griselda boys (Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, and Benny the Butcher).
6 No Limit Records
Before its decline, Master P's No Limit Records is one of the finest labels in the game. Started off in 1991, No Limit gained momentum in 1997 after projects from Master P's group TRU and their local talents like Mystikal and Mia X went gold. They also signed their first-ever marquee artist, Snoop Dogg, who was just escaping Death Row, who later released his No Limit debut and scored over half a million record sales in its first week.
5 Aftermath Entertainment
Dr. Dre was on the top of the world back in 1996. After his split with NWA, Dre joined Death Row Records, and his debut album, The Chronic, became one of the must-listen classic hip-hop albums ever. As things got messy inside the label, Dre felt that enough is enough. He stepped down to form his own label, Aftermath Entertainment, and the rest is history. After a disappointing debut album, Aftermath found its track when Dre signed Eminem in 1998.
Aside from Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Anderson .Paak are now the Aftermath's roster.
4 Roc Nation / Roc-A-Fella
Jay-Z named his rap empire after the infamous wealthy Rockefeller family as an independent outlet to launch his rap career back in 1996. His debut album, Reasonable Doubt, might not perform commercially well, but it definitely did give Jay-Z a good rep in the street. In the next couple of years, Jay-Z signed the likes of Kanye West, Jadakiss, Beanie Siegel, and many others before its defunct in 2013.
However, five years before its undeniable fate, Jay formed Roc Nation, which serves more than just a hip-hop label. It's an entertainment agency that homes various artists from a wide variety of genres: Rihanna, Shakira, Lil Uzi, Normani of Fifth Harmony, and many others.
3 Def Jam
36 years ago, Rick Rubin, who was later joined by Russel Simmons, founded Def Jam in his student dorm room in Weinstein Hall at New York University. Def Jam has been in the game for decades and its track record speaks for itself. Some of the top-flight artists that find a shelter under Def Jam are Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, and DMX. However, Def Jam is not only a hip-hop label. Its genre variation ranges from hip-hop to pop.
2 Bad Boy
Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs, who had just been fired from Uptown in mid-1993, formed his own label, Bad Boy Records, in late 1993. The Notorious B.I.G and Craig Mack were one of the first artists of the label. The two, along with Biggie's sweetheart Faith Evans, dominated the hip-hop charts for years, which later raised the tension between them and West Coast-based Death Row Records.
1 Death Row Records
Lastly, we have Death Row Records, the label that gave us the legendary Tupac Shakur, his 'Amerikaz Most Wanted' partner in crime Snoop Dogg, and the mastermind of beats and artistry, Dr. Dre. It all started in 1991 by Suge Knight, Dre, The D.O.C, and Dick Griffey. The Dre-Snoop-Tupac trio was a pivotal success of Death Row, and the label generated over $100 million in a single year during its peak.
The crashing point came after the label's boss, Suge Knight, got violent, prompting Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg to leave. Tupac's death in 1996 also marked the lowest point in the history of the label. Since then, Death Row has never recovered.