We have many talented artists but to be great you have to have more than just talent. You have to be marketable and have access to great producers and artist. A&R’s are in charge of making you into a star by marketing artists to all types of audiences globally. They make sure you have all the resources to make a hit record. Here are a list of 10 of the most influential A&R’s in Hip-Hop, this list is random and does not rank these people from least to greatest or vice versa.
- Jimmy Iovine – Jimmy Iovine is responsible for artist such as Eminem, 50 cent, and the Black Eyed Peas as well as other artist. He’s also responsible for the debut albums of Dr.Dre and Snoop Dogg debut albums, which were absolute hits and now considered iconic albums to listen to. In addition, he was in charge of 2pac entire recording career.
- Damon “Dame” Dash- Dame Dash is responsible of some incredible artists, his resume includes names such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Cam’ron. He is responsible for the two biggest Hip-Hop artist of the 90’s and early 2000’s and artist who are very much still very relevant today. It has been said that he never showed much interest in what happened in the studio, however he understood the culture at the time, which made him a marketing genius.
- Chris Lighty- Lighty is responsible for artist such as Fat Joe, Busta Rhymes, Mob deep, Ja Rule, and Missy Elliott. Founder and lead A&R executive of Violator records and also worked for Def Jam records. He reinvented LL Cool J career and built DMX and Ja Rule career to their absolute peaks. He took a break from the music industry, however when he came back he championed a young Soulja boy.
- Faith Newman- Faith is responsible for some Hip-Hop legends, she has worked Nas, Big L, and 2 Chainz. She has worked for Columbia records as well as Def Jam records. She was a vital figure in the production of Nas album “Illmatic” with pairing the artist with producers that would be able to provide the desired beats. Today she is charge of 2 Chainz and represents producer Scott Storch.
- Barry Weiss- Barry is responsible for artist such as Too Short, E-40, and A Tribe Called Quest. He has been named the “best A&R in history” by complex. He is known for investing heavily into his artist and always making the right decisions thanks to his artistic judgement. In his later years he was responsible for artist such as T-pain and Chris Brown.
- Rick Rubin- The founder of Def Jam records and the man behind the scenes responsible for the careers of the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and Run-D.M.C. Rick Rubin is credited to be the first rap A&R because Def Jam records was the first to declare Hip-Hop as its main territory. Later in his career he was found more success as a rock record producer.
- Diddy- Founder of Bad Boy records and responsible for Hip-Hop great The Notorious B.I.G., 112, and his own music career. He started out as an intern and worked his way up to an A&R position. He is not responsible for Mary J, Blige or Jodeci, however he has worked with them at the start of his career.
- Andre Harrell- Andre Harrell is the founder of Uptown records and is responsible for artist such as Heavy D, Mary J Blige, and Jodeci. He also had a major part in the phenomenon of New Jack Swing and the merging of hip-hop style into R&B, which still influences music today. He took Diddy under his wing as an intern and eventually made him in charge of two promising artist Mary J Blige and Jodeci.
- & 10. Chris Schwartz and Joe Nicolo- This epic duo founded Ruffhouse Records and are equally responsible for The Fugees, Cypress Hill, Kriss Kross, and Lauryn Hill. They started out in the 1980’s but started to gain traction in 1989 with the signing of Cypress Hill. They discovered Dmx, however he did not become a star until he signed with Def Jam.
