Rawkus Records...R.I.P.

[Don Breezio]

its official...Rawkus is now officially dead (or atleast as of 01-31-04 they will be)...damn...that sux, they've put out some of the best albums. i wonder where everyone will go? although all hip hop had a rumor that talib kweli may have been going to the roc...i suppose thats a possibility now.

[Lincoln]

Talib Kweli needs to get on Guerilla Funk....That's where all the conscious acts are possibly going (dead prez, Public Enemy, Immortal Technique).

[Darksider]

its official...Rawkus is now officially dead (or atleast as of 01-31-04 they will be)...damn...that sux, they've put out some of the best albums. i wonder where everyone will go? although all hip hop had a rumor that talib kweli may have been going to the roc...i suppose thats a possibility now.

[Jome]

Hopefully this will add more fuel to the previous rumours that Pharoahe Monch was gonna sign with Aftermath, Pharoahe over a Dre-beat.. cot damn !

[Dave Shining]

the only realest label exists no more anybody kno why they went outtta biz

[Kill]

damn, Rawkus was a quite good label. Put out a lot of dope shit, had a dope roster. but theyve been close to dead for a while so this don't come as a big surprise to me. R.I.P.

[PLANT]

Damn this is sad...I remember a few years back Rawkus was prolly the most promising label.

[Nightfall]

hip-hop is dyin'

Rawkus was the only raw label with exposure

stones throw, babygrande, def jux and some other labels still keep it real like Rawkus did, but they arent getting any exposure

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Damn this really is sad, could see it coming though. Apart from "Quality" they haven't really released an album in ages. Apparantly Black Star are gonna sign with the ROC, hopefully Pharoahe can get a good deal as well, although not on Aftermath, he'll never get anything released there. Sucks for Mad Skillz too, never did get that album out.

[Kill]

stones throw, babygrande, def jux and some other labels still keep it real like Rawkus did, but they arent getting any exposure

Def Jux is gettin a bit of exposure, but not as much as Rawkus did. Personally I like Stones Throw alot more, but damn rite that label gets very little recognition. Rawkus was kinda like the label that stood for this type of raw hiphop and also the one that got me into it. So this really sucks

[Nightfall]

stones throw, babygrande, def jux and some other labels still keep it real like Rawkus did, but they arent getting any exposure

Def Jux is gettin a bit of exposure, but not as much as Rawkus did. Personally I like Stones Throw alot more, but damn rite that label gets very little recognition. Rawkus was kinda like the label that stood for this type of raw hiphop and also the one that got me into it. So this really sucks

i prefer stones throw aswell, its my favorite label

Madlib=one of the best producers of allll time

do u like the lootpack?

[On The Edge of Insanity]

From allhiphop.com
After 8 years in business and releasing such groundbreaking artists as Mos Def and Talib Kweli, seminal hip-hop label Rawkus Records is closing their doors.

According to sources, the label will officially shut down as of January 31.

"We all found out on Friday," a source who wished to remain anonymous told AllHipHop.com.

After signing a joint venture deal with Geffen/Universal, the parent label opted not to renew the deal, leaving Rawkus without distribution.

"Everyone is getting laid off, right now," the source continued. "They might get new distribution in the future, but as of now it's done."

Sources said the label will vacate their Broadway offices by the end of the month and certain artists will be absorbed by Geffen, but which artists weren't known as of press time.

"It didn't get critical until last year," another source said. "We had a few albums we were working on. The 'Just To Get By Single' didn't come out until February . We had Novel , we had singles, we were gonna put out Pharaoh, we were busy. When the Geffen deal went down, we didn't have any release dates."

Rawkus was founded in 1996 by Brian Brater, Jarret Meyer and James Murdoch, son of billionaire investor and News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch.

The label released seminal hip-hop records during its 8 year life, including critically acclaimed releases by Reflection Eternal, Company Flow, The High & Mighty, Hi-Tek, Black Star, the Soundbombing series and others.

They may still resurface, but will have lost all their current artists by then, so getting a new distribution deal would be near impossible.

I'm still gonna rock my Rawkus t-shirt with pride.

[Conan]

This is some really depressing news. I had heard rumours about 'Mos Def Presents...Soundbombing 4' dropping on Rawkus recently as well. Maybe I was sleeping, but did it ever drop   I suspect Kweli will go to the Roc. I could imagine him and Kanye West putting out a lot of dope material in the future, so that would be one good thing I guess - provided the Roc don't try to craft him into some sort of overly commercial rapper. Not saying they would do, but look what happened when Columbia tried to break Royce Da 5' 9" into radio? That just seemed to ensure that 'Rock City' flopped.
What will happen with the mighty Mos Def though? Yeah, so he hardly ever drops new material but I hope he can find a good deal also.

R.I.P Rawkus!

[Bramsterdam (see ya)]

this isn't too good...


 

but if mos goes where talib goes, then i'll still be happy..
and yeah hopes for pharoahe to get a good label



R.I.P.