SRC (Street Records Corporation) was an American

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

created by former Loud Records CEO Steve Rifkind. It was a subsidiary of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

and was distributed through Motown Records and

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

Company history

SRC was founded by Steve Rifkind in 2000. In 2002, he was ousted from his CEO position from Loud. Although he already had SRC, he made it a bigger priority and sign an exclusive distribution deal with Universal. The label was much like Loud Records, a hip hop and R&B label. The first move with the label was signing David Banner, a rapper from

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. With Banner as their flagship artist, SRC soared to great heights behind his 2003 debut. The label was instantly hailed as the second-coming of

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

, due to the obvious similarities. The hit single "Like A Pimp," would make the label a household name within the hip hop community. During the year of 2003, the label would hit paydirt after hearing tapes from Senegalese singer,

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

, who they would immediately sign to their label. In 2004, Akon would release his multi-platinum debut album, ''Trouble.'' In early 2004, they signed a deal to distribute material from the rap supergroup, Terror Squad. SRC would go on to release all albums from Remy Ma and the group Terror Squad, itself. In the summer of 2004, SRC would become home to the hit single, " Lean Back," by

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

and Remy Ma. After these releases, SRC had established itself among the other heavyweight record labels in hip hop music. In 2005, the label granted Akon his own label Konvict Muzik. The deal brought more artists on to the label and a hit album from Akon.

Loud deal and later successes

In June 2007, Sony Music resurrected Rifkind's original label, Loud Records. Loud had been home to many of the more popular hip hop acts of the time, but would shut down operations in 2004. After the resurrection of Loud, Rifkind would buy the label and make it a subsidiary of SRC. His first act after re-gaining the label was, as he did fifteen years earlier, signing the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

. In August 2010 Rifkind signed rapper Joell Ortiz in a deal with SRC Records and Universal Motown Records. The label had a deal with Universal Republic Records, later the label was reverted to

. On July 29, 2012, Steve Rifkind announced that he was leaving Universal Music Group on September 1, 2012. On Christmas Eve 2024, Steve Rifkind announced that he return to Universal Music Group and relaunch SRC Records under Universal Records, Motown Records and Republic Records.

Labels under SRC

Terror Squad Entertainment Terror Squad Productions (later Terror Squad Entertainment) is an American hip hop and rap record company founded by Fat Joe in 1997. The label has been distributed by Atlantic, Virgin Records, and Columbia Records. The label's flagship artist ...

(before 2007) * Loud Records * UpFront Records * Konvict Muzik

Current and new roster

Old roster

* David Banner *

* Asher Roth * Melanie Fiona * Shontelle * Pharoahe Monch * Aubrey O'Day (of

Danity Kane Danity Kane is an American music group whose most recent line-up consisted of Aubrey O'Day, Dawn Richard, and Shannon Bex. The group originally had five members, but D. Woods, Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett left the group in 2008, and Aundrea Fimbre ...

) * Young Cash *

* Tami Chynn * Melissa Jimenez *

Shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

* Majic Massey * Tyra Bolling * Metro P * Ray J * DJ Webstar *

Problem Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...

* Kaze * Ric-A-Che * Jae Millz * Remy Ma * Big Pun (Columbia/Loud/Terror Squad/SRC) * Xzibit * Prodigy (

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

/Loud/SRC/Infamous)

SRC discography

* Big Pun - '' Yeeeah Baby'' (2000) * David Banner – '' Mississippi: The Album'' (2003) * Baby Bash – '' Tha Smokin' Nephew'' (2003) * David Banner – '' MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Water'' (2003) *

– '' Trouble'' (2004) * Terror Squad – '' True Story'' (2004) * Ric-A-Che – ''Lack of Communication'' (2004) * Baby Bash – '' Super Saucy'' (2005) * David Banner – '' Certified'' (2005) * Remy Ma – '' There's Something About Remy'' (2006) * Akon – '' Konvicted'' (2006) * Pharoahe Monch – ''

Desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of affa ...

'' (2007) * Grandaddy Souf – ''Chasing My Dream'' (2007) * Keith Sweat – ''The Sweat Hotel'' (2007) * Wu-Tang Clan – '' 8 Diagrams'' (2007) * Lil' Baza Featuring DJ Gayness (2008) * David Banner – '' The Greatest Story Ever Told''(2008) * Shontelle – '' Shontelligence'' (2008) * Akon – ''

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

'' (2008) * Lala Man – ''September'' (2008) * Heavy Mojo – ''Blow Out The Sound'' (2009) * Asher Roth – '' Asleep in the Bread Aisle'' (2009) * Melanie Fiona – '' The Bridge'' (2009) * Shontelle - '' No Gravity'' (2010) * Melanie Fiona - '' The MF Life'' (2012)

References

External links

Official SRC Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Src Records Defunct record labels of the United States Hip-hop record labels Record labels based in New York (state) Record labels established in 2002 Record labels disestablished in 2012 2002 establishments in New York (state) Labels distributed by Universal Music Group