Ruff Ryders Entertainment
Ruff Ryders | |
---|---|
Parent company | Universal |
Founded | 1997[1] |
Founder | Joaquin "Waah" Dean Darrin "Dee" Dean Chivon Dean |
Distributor(s) | Interscope (US) Universal (International) |
Genre | |
Country of origin | United States |
Location | Yonkers, New York, U.S. |
Ruff Ryders is an American record label founded by Joaquin "Waah" Dean, Darin "Dee" Dean and Chivon Dean, uncles and aunt of producer Swizz Beatz.[2] It operated as a subsidiary of Universal, and distributed by Fontana Distribution.
History[]
Ruff Ryders began as the managers of DMX and The LOX. Following DMX's chart success, the management company started its own label. The label signed several more acts who consequently became successful, including Eve, Drag-On, and Jin. The Deans' nephew, Swizz Beatz, was the main producer for most of the acts.
The label promoted the idea of all its acts being part of the "Ruff Ryders family", as evidenced when DMX won Best Rap Album at the 2000 Billboard Music Awards and was joined on stage by the other Ruff Ryders artists when he went to accept his award.[3]
In 2010 the Dean family relaunched the label as Ruff Ryders Indy, and has branched out into other areas, including Ruff Ryders Lifestyles (a sports bike organization),[4] Ruff Ryders Films,[5] Powerhouse Recording Studios, NatPro, a promotional company, and the Ruff Ryders to the Rescue Foundation.[6]
Artists and producers (in alphabetical order)[]
- Aja Smith (Ruff Ryders/Interscope)
- Big Stan
- Cassidy (Ruff Ryders/Full Surface/J/eOne)
- Dame Grease (Ruff Ryders/Vacant Lot)
- DANCIL (Ruff Ryders)
- DMX (Ruff Ryders/Def Jam/Bloodline)
- Drag-On (Ruff Ryders/Interscope)
- Eve (Ruff Ryders/Interscope)
- Flashy (Ruff Ryders)
- Infa-Red & Cross (Ruff Ryders/Def Jam)
- MC Jin (Ruff Ryders/Virgin)
- Fiend (Ruff Ryders/Interscope)
- Kartoon (Ruff Ryders)
- Loose Cannon
- The LOX (Jadakiss, Sheek Louch and Styles P) (Ruff Ryders/D-Block/Bad Boy/Roc Nation)
- Parle (Ruff Ryders/Interscope)
- Pirate (Ruff Ryders)
- P.K./P. Killer Trackz
- Swizz Beatz (Ruff Ryders/Interscope)
- Yung Wun (Ruff Ryders)
Labels founded by Ruff Ryder artists[]
- Bloodline Records Founded By DMX
- D-Block Records Founded By The Lox
- Full Surface Records Founded By Swizz Beatz
Ruff Ryders[]
Ruff Ryders | |
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Years active | 1998–2011 |
Labels |
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Associated acts | Jay-Z |
Past members | DMX (deceased) Drag-On Eve Jadakiss MC Jin Sheek Louch Styles P Swizz Beatz Yung Wun |
Ruff Ryders was an American hip hop collective composed of signees of Ruff Ryders Entertainment. The group's de facto leader was DMX.
Releases[]
Studio albums[]
Artist | Album | Details |
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DMX | It's Dark and Hell Is Hot |
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Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood |
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Eve | Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady |
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DMX | ...And Then There Was X |
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The Lox | We Are the Streets |
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Drag-On | Opposite of H2O |
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Eve | Scorpion |
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Jadakiss | Kiss tha Game Goodbye |
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DMX | The Great Depression |
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Styles P | A Gangster and a Gentleman |
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Eve | Eve-Olution |
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DMX | Grand Champ |
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Drag-On | Hell and Back |
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Jadakiss | Kiss of Death |
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Jin | The Rest Is History |
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Sheek Louch | After Taxes |
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DMX | Year of the Dog... Again |
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Styles P | Time is Money |
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Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman) |
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Jadakiss | The Last Kiss |
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Compilations[]
Artist | Album | Details |
---|---|---|
Ruff Ryders | Ryde or Die Vol. 1 |
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Ruff Ryders | Ryde or Die Vol. 2 |
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Ruff Ryders | Ryde or Die Vol. 3: In the "R" We Trust |
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Ruff Ryders | The Redemption Vol. 4 |
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DMX | The Definition of X: The Pick of the Litter | |
DMX | Playlist Your Way |
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DMX | The Best of DMX | |
Ruff Ryders | Ruff Ryders: Past, Present, Future |
|
References[]
- ^ Carl Lamarre (April 22, 2017). "Eve Impresses, DMX Struggles Through His Set at Ruff Ryders Reunion Concert". Billboard. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
Established in 1997, the venerable label birthed iconic rap stars ...
- ^ Phares, Heather. Biography of Ruff Ryders at AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2008.
- ^ Simon, Reynolds (March 12, 2000). "Family Values in the Rap Business". The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- ^ "About Us". Ruff Ryders Lifestyles. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
- ^ http://ruffrydersfilms.com Archived February 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Ruff Ryders Rescue". ruffryders.com. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (January 19, 2002). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
- ^ Kellman, Andy. "The Definition of X: The Pick of the Litter – DMX". AllMusic. TiVo Corporation. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ "BPI: DMX". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "DMX – Playlist Your Way". Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ Jeffries, David. "The Best of DMX – DMX". AllMusic. TiVo Corporation. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ "BPI: DMX". British Phonographic Industry.
External links[]
- Record labels established in 1988
- Record labels disestablished in 2010
- Defunct record labels of the United States
- American record labels
- American hip hop record labels
- Contemporary R&B record labels
- Vivendi subsidiaries
- Labels distributed by Universal Music Group
- Gangsta rap record labels
- Hardcore hip hop record labels
- DMX (rapper)