I can only hope that a few bedroom producers and emcees take this as an opportunity to revisit The Cold Vein, Labor Days, Fantastic Damage, I Phantom, Dead Ringer, Bazooka Tooth and Smashy Trashy. It took J-Dilla’s death and the outpouring of support that followed to inspire listeners and artists to dig deep into his catalogue and to push his influence to the forefront of their music. If there’s an upside to all of this, it’s that maybe the label’s “hiatus” (come on, son) will call attention to all of the incredible music they put out. Couple that with the sales crunch that all labels are facing these days and I’m surprised they even lasted this long. Lif fell off and Camu Tao’s tragic passing took the wind out of the label’s sails just as it seemed to be gearing for a comeback.
First Can Ox broke up then El-P and Aesop took their sweet time with their second and third albums. Subsequent releases felt increasingly derivative and the original crew slowly unraveled. Unfortunately, there were signs of trouble as early as 2003: Murs’ End of the Beginning couldn’t have been more appropriately titled, ditching the label’s signature sound for a hodge-podge of undie-rap influences. Maybe if their core releases were staggered over a longer period of time they’d have seemed relevant for longer. That it all came in a 2-½ year torrent of material made it even more impressive. That last example is particularly poignant: the clear heirs to Rza’s dusty NY underground sound, Def Jux’s original run may not have matched the Wu’s but it damn sure tried.
After a stunning early run of back to back classics, the label’s mid-decade expansion, loss of direction and irrelevance felt like the same old story: Motown, Factory, Rocafella, Wu-Tang… this was not the first label/crew to fall off. That’s probably not the nicest way to start off a tribute post but it’s the truth.
ZIP: DJ Sach – Farewell Def Jux Mix (Left-Click)Īt first, the demise of indie rap powerhouse Definitive Jux left me… indifferent.
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