This September, Rizzoli will release “Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label” written by Bill Adler and Dan Charnas, with a preface by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons.

“This is the story of Def Jam in the words of its artists and top executives, taken from interviews and seamlessly told as a narrative of no-holds barred recollections and anecdotes, made even more compelling by the fact that Def Jam is one of the last great record labels to enjoy the widespread cultural influence that it does, in light of the increasing digitization of music. Def Jam celebrates a label that defined hip-hop and whose impact extends beyond its incredible roster of recording artists to all areas of culture–fashion, lifestyle, cinema, art–impacting the music business and pop culture forever.”

Artists LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Rihanna and Kanye West are all featured, amongst others, alongside memorabilia from the archives and photos by the likes of Albert Watson, Glen E. Friedman, Jonathan Mannion and Annie Leibovitz. Furthermore, the book was designed by Cey Adams, Def Jam’s founding creative director.

Def Jam and adidas Originals join up once again for a blue and green leather El Dorado. Throwback hip-hop silo with Def Jam logos. It works. Zozo’s styles is now taking pre-orders for a mid-May release.

More looks at the Def Jam x adidas Originals El Dorado after the jump.

From the adidas x Def Jam 25th Anniversary Collection, the two Redman collaboration models have been released. The rapper worked on the Superstar and the Forum Mid. The Superstar comes with a red suede upper and black details, as well as a speckled sole. The Forum Mid comes in white/blue/red with gold accents. Both are now available from Proper.

More detailed images of both sneakers follow after the jump.

Def Jam continues to celebrate their 25th anniversary this year and will be presenting a large sneaker pack in collaboration with adidas later this year. The pack consists of the Forum, Nizza, Samba, Stan Smith and Superstar, each coming in a variety of colorways. On top of collaborations with the Def Jam label, adidas also presents collaborations with Red Man, Young Jeezy and Ghostface as part of the pack. The pack is part of the adidas Originals Fall/Winter 2009 Collection. Via Adifans.

Detailed images of the complete adidas x Def Jam 25th Anniversary Pack follow after the jump.

Flight Club and Def Jam will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the music label on several occasions in the next couple of months. Both events and product are part of the celebration and for the first event they made these limited edition t-shirts.

The event took place at Flight Club NYC and lots of familiar faces were present, including HAZE, Dante Ross, Angelo Baque (Supreme), Kenzo Digital, Nick Diamond, Ray Mate, Hawaii Mike and many more. 13th Witness documented the night. Check it out here.

While he may never generate the buzz that surrounded his early career up to the Canibus battles again, there is no disputing LL COOL J’s position in rap history. His 13th album is on the way, with a rather intriguing cover on offer. The microphone that started it all with Canibus, and adorns LL’s arm, features heavy. It raises the question will the album have the impact the graphic suggests? We’ll see. It is out Sept. 9th from Def Jam. 

In other news, Jay-Z announced on Monday that he will be stepping down as President of Def-Jam.
“Universal Music Group said on Monday that rap artist and hip-hop mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter is stepping down as president of its Def Jam Records unit, effective by the end of the year. Carter, 38, has been president of the rap label since 2005, and has signed acts including R&B singers Rihanna and Ne-Yo. Universal said Carter, a top-selling rapper who performs as Jay-Z, will continue recording for its Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam label. But the company did not give a reason for his decision to quit the executive suite. “Now it’s time for me to take on new challenges,” he said in a statement. “I am pleased to have had the opportunity to build upon the Def Jam legacy,” he added. Carter will focus on his expanding franchise of 40/40 Nightclubs over the next year and other businesses, according to a source familiar with his plans.” Via Str8hiphop.
Let’s see what he has got up his sleeves and planned for us next year!