So So Def Recordings

So So Def Recordings
Parent company	Sony
Founded	1993
Founder	Jermaine Dupri
Distributor(s)	Epic Records (current) Primary Wave Music[1](former)
Genre	Hip hop, R&B
Country of origin	United States
Location	Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America

So So Def Recordings is a record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by producer Jermaine Dupri, specializing in Southern hip hop, R&B, and bass music. So So Def has managed artists such as Bow Wow, Kris Kross, TLC, Usher and Da Brat.

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 and Columbia. Its 1st act was Xscape, whose debut album was released in the fall of the same year and went Platinum—as did their 2nd and 3rd albums, released in 1995 and 1998. In 1994, the label released the debut album of Da Brat, who became the 1st solo female emcee to be certified for Platinum album sales. In 1996, Kandi Burruss brought Jagged Edge to the attention of the label; their debut album, A Jagged Era, was released in 1997. So So Def later released the Triple Platinum debut album by Bow Wow in 2000. Other acts on the label have included: Dem Franchise Boyz, Maestro Harrell, The Ghost Town DJs, INOJ, J-Kwon, Trina Broussard, R.O.C., and Anthony Hamilton.

Current Artists

• Da Brat
• Bow Wow
• Dem Franchise Boyz
• J-Kwon
• Jagged Edge
• Xscape

Miss Mulatto

Mani

Jayla Marie

Distribution

In 2003, 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, causing So So Def to move again, this time over to Virgin and EMI—resulting in the loss of Bone Crusher and YoungBloodZ. 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, 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.^[2] In 2010, Mississippi-based independent label Malaco Records distributed So So Def's release of the Why Did I Get Married Too? soundtrack.^[3][4]

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.^[5]

Discography

References

1. ↑ "JAGGED EDGE TO RELEASE SEQUEL TO MULTI-PLATINUM ‘J.E. HEARTBREAK’ THIS FALL". primarywavemusic.com. Primary Wave Music. Retrieved 2014-11-06. 
2. ↑ "JD Moves So So Def To Sony". Rap Basement. Retrieved 9 March 2015. 
3. ↑ "Janet Jackson "Nothing" (So So Def/Malaco Music)". Retrieved 9 March 2015. 
4. ↑ http://addboard.mediabase.com/SongAddHistory.asp?Sngcde=DONDWDWG&OB=1&format=U1
5. ↑ Jermaine Dupri & So So Def Label Team with Epic Records & L.A. Reid

External links

• Official site