So So Def Recordings is an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

based in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, United States, and owned by producer

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

, specializing in

Southern hip hop Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memph ...

, R&B and

bass music Bass music is a term used to describe several genres of electronic dance music and hip hop music arising from the 1980s on, focusing on a prominent bass drum and/or bassline sound. As one source notes, there are "many different types of bass musi ...

. So So Def has managed artists such as Bow Wow,

Kris Kross Kris Kross was an American hip hop duo that consisted of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. Kris Kross was the youngest hip-hop duo to gain success, with gold and platinum albums at 12 and 13 years old. The duo was discover ...

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

, and Usher.

Beginnings

So So Def was established in 1993 as a spin-off of Dupri's production company of the same moniker, through a joint venture with

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

and Columbia. Its first act was Xscape, whose debut album was released in the fall of the same year and went

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

—as did their 2nd and 3rd albums, released in 1995 and 1998. In 1994, the label released the debut album of

Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album ''Funkda ...

, who became the 1st solo female emcee to be certified for

album sales. In 1996,

Kandi Burruss Kandi Lenice Burruss Tucker (born May 17, 1976), known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American producer, television personality, singer, songwriter and actress. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the female vocal group Xs ...

brought Jagged Edge to the attention of the label; their debut album, ''

A Jagged Era ''A Jagged Era'' is the debut studio album by American R&B group Jagged Edge, released on October 21, 1997 by So So Def and Columbia Records. The quartet worked with So So Def head Jermaine Dupri on the majority of the album. ''A Jagged Era'' ...

'', was released in 1997. So So Def later released the

Triple Platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

debut album by Lil’ Bow Wow in 2000. Other acts on the label have included:

Dem Franchise Boyz Dem Franchize Boyz was an American hip hop group from Atlanta, signed to E1 Music. The group had four members: Parlae (born Maurice Gleaton), Pimpin' (Jamal Willingham), Jizzal Man (Bernard Leverette), and Buddie (Gerald Tiller). They were best ...

Maestro Harrell Maestro Harrell, also known as M A E S T R O (born July 29, 1991), is an American DJ, singer, rapper, actor, and record producer. He starred on the HBO original series ''The Wire'' as Randy Wagstaff (2006–08), and as Malik on the ABC comedy '' ...

, The Ghost Town DJs, INOJ,

J-Kwon Jerrell C. Jones (born March 28, 1986), better known by his stage name J-Kwon, is an American rapper best known for his 2004 single " Tipsy," which peaked at number two in 2004. Life and career At age 12, Jones was expelled from his home for a ...

Trina Broussard Katrina Broussard (born October 8, 1969) is an R&B singer and songwriter. Trina Broussard began her career in 1997 when she covered Minnie Riperton's song " Inside My Love". A year later, Broussard signed a recording contract with Jermaine Dupr ...

, 3LW, and Anthony Hamilton.

Distribution

In late 2002, So So Def's distribution deal with Columbia ended. The following year, Dupri moved So So Def to Arista. While many of So So Def's acts moved with the label to Arista, Bow Wow and Jagged Edge were forced to remain at Columbia, due to their contracts having been with that company primarily. In 2004, per the re-consolidation of labels caused by the merger of its former Sony parent and BMG, So So Def was shifted from Arista to Zomba. In 2005, Dupri was appointed Executive Vice President of Urban Music at

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, causing So So Def to move again, this time over to Virgin and

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

—resulting in the loss of

Bone Crusher A bone crusher is a device regularly used for crushing animal bones. Bones obtained during slaughter are cleaned, boiled in water and dried for several months. After that, they are suitable for crushing with the special machine into a relativel ...

and

YoungBloodZ YoungBloodZ is an American Southern hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia composed of J-Bo (born Jeffrey Raymond Grigsby on October 4, 1977) and Sean P (born Sean Paul Ryan Joseph on March 7, 1978). The duo was signed to LaFace Records. They are o ...

. So So Def, meanwhile, was able to retain J-Kwon and Anthony Hamilton, despite them still being signed to Zomba. In 2006, Dupri had a falling out with Virgin, resulting in him leaving his post at the company. Intermittent, he was appointed President of urban music at Universal's

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, resulting in So So Def once again making a move to UMG's The Island Def Jam. In 2009, it was reported that Dupri had been terminated from his post at Island. Later in the same year, it was rumored that So So Def had moved back to Sony, where it reportedly operated under Zomba once more. In 2010, Mississippi-based independent label

Malaco Records Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Mel Waiters, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, La ...

distributed So So Def's release of the ''

Why Did I Get Married Too? ''Why Did I Get Married Too?'' is a 2010 American comedy-drama film directed by Tyler Perry and starring Janet Jackson, Tyler Perry, Tasha Smith, Jill Scott, Louis Gossett Jr., Malik Yoba, Michael Jai White, Sharon Leal, Richard T. Jones, Lamman ...

'' soundtrack. In 2014, So So Def partnered with Primary Wave for the release of Jagged Edge's album '' J.E. Heartbreak 2''. In June 2016, So So Def partnered with Epic for current distribution.

Discography

Former artists

* Xscape * Monica (Management only) * Bow Wow *Playa Poncho *Fundisha *

Whodini Whodini is an American hip hop group that was formed in 1982. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, a.k.a. Ecstasy (who wore a Zorro-style hat as his trademark; Ju ...

Dem Franchize Boyz Dem Franchize Boyz was an American hip hop group from Atlanta, signed to E1 Music. The group had four members: Parlae (born Maurice Gleaton), Pimpin' (Jamal Willingham), Jizzal Man (Bernard Leverette), and Buddie (Gerald Tiller). They were best ...

Harlem World ''Harlem World'' is the debut album by American hip hop recording artist Mase, released on October 28, 1997, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. The album was nominated at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album. It went on to sell 4.8 ...

Ghost Town DJ's Ghost Town DJ's (often stylized as Ghostown DJs) is an American hip-hop group from Atlanta, Georgia whose members consist of Dj DEMP, Rodney Terry, Greg Street and Kito, which recorded the 1996 hit single, " My Boo". The song was influenced by M ...

*Tigah *The R.O.C. *

(Management only) *T. Waters *

* Anthony Hamilton *

Daz Dillinger Delmar Drew Arnaud (born May 25, 1973), known professionally as Daz Dillinger (formerly Dat Nigga Daz and commonly Daz), is an American rapper and record producer. In the 1990s at Death Row Records, aided the catapult of West Coast rap and ga ...

* 3LW *Miss B *Brooks Buford *

Rocko Rocko Rama is the main protagonist of the animated television series '' Rocko's Modern Life'', the Netflix special Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling, and the comic book series of the same name. Carlos Alazraqui provided the voice of the anthropo ...

DJ Felli Fel James Andrew Corrine, better known by his stage name DJ Felli Fel, is an American club and radio DJ for Los Angeles's Power 106, record producer, and hype man. He is also a member of The Heavy Hitters DJs. His debut single, " Get Buck in Here ...

*Young Capone *

Hot Dollar Leon Gray, also known as Hot Dollar (born Leon Gray) is a rapper born in Chicago, Illinois, raised in Hattisburg, Mississippi and based in Compton, California. He's best known for his 2007 single "Two Steppin' (Streets on Lock)", which samples ...

Johntá Austin Johntá Austin ( ; born June 28, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, vocalist and rapper, signed to Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings. He is known for collaborating with producers Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri an ...

*T. Waters *Dondria *9th Ward *

Leah Labelle Leah LaBelle Vladowski (September 8, 1986 – January 31, 2018) was an American singer. She rose to prominence in 2004 as a contestant on the third season of ''American Idol'', placing twelfth in the season finals. In 2007, LaBelle b ...

(deceased)

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control American record labels Contemporary R&B record labels Hip hop record labels Record labels established in 1993 Zomba Group of Companies subsidiaries