68 SHOWBIZ

The Toronto Sun n Friday, OctOber 21, 2011

Jam-packed with stuff

puBlIc enemy

New coffee table book on rap label filled with hundreds of little gems

Rhythms N Rhymes

nazareth

errol

As you would expect in a book that charts the history of a hugely influential rap label, there are literally hundreds of reminiscences from rap royalty in Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label. One, in particular, stands out for me. And its from Lyor Cohen, Def Jams former chairman. Who would have thought, back in the 80s, that wed ever see a coffee-table book about rap? The question resonates with me because for nearly a decade, I was one of very few journalists writing regularly about hip-hop in a major daily (The Sun) and I was constantly asked if I thought hiphop was a fad. Gorgeous and essential, Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label celebrates the labels rich story via photographs, flyers, album cover art, magazine covers and advertisements. Its packed with interviews and anecdotes from Def Jams visionary founders Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, former label executives, and artists like the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and Method Man. And did you notice the ballsy subtitle of the book? I kind of wish it wasnt true, says Bill Adler, who co-authored the book with Dan Charnas, and who was Def Jams founding publicist. Really, that subtitle says more about the current state of the record business than it does about Def Jam. The

record business as I knew it growing up, and as it existed when Def Jam was founded in 1984, is finished. God knows whats going to take its place, but Im dubious that whatever it is will take the form of record labels along the lines of Def Jam, Motown, Stax or Blue Note. Sales of recordings just dont support that kind of infrastructure anymore. Asked what the labels genius was, Adler shoots back: Ricks dedication to capturing the excitement and rawness of live rap on vinyl, married with Russells understanding of and love for the community and the culture that produced rap music. A d l e r, w h o a l s o w ro t e

Tougher Than Leather: The Authorized Biography of RunDMC, landed his gig at Def Jam in the most curious way. He says he wrote an antiRonald Reagan rap in 1984 and approached Simmons, who managed Kurtis Blow, in the hopes that the iconic rapper would record his song and that it would become the theme song of an anti-Reagan juggernaut. As the world well knows, neither the rap nor the juggernaut materialized, Adler says, with a laugh. But Russ and I hit it off and he offered me a job. And, yes, I always knew (Def Jam) were making history. For a long time, we made nothing but hits. If its a hit, its history, and I treasured it all.

i always knew (Def Jam) were making history. For a long time, we made nothing but hits.
bill adler

Adler didnt have any prior experience as a publicist before joining Def Jam, but hed been writing for 10 years and says that since Simmons was managing about 12 acts with no house publicist, I just figured the PR job suited my skills, and that however badly I did, it would still be better than nothing. During his tenure at the label, he worked with legends like Kurtis Blow, Whodini, Slick Rick, Eric B & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane and EPMD, and says hell never forget working with Public Enemy, arguably the labels and hip-hops most revolutionary and controversial group. He says the photograph that was taken by David Coreo in London, England, in 1987 (above) is significant. It makes me think of the immediacy and love with which the English embraced Public Enemy. They were much more deeply into PE at the beginning than the Amer-

icans, says Adler. I think the English saw PE as the second coming of Bob Marley. MC Serch, who as a member of 3rd Bass toured widely with Public Enemy in 88 and 89, has this to say about PE in the book: To the Brits, PE were black heroes standing up to the authorities. Public Enemy gave global presence to the whole idea of structure and identity and of using yourself resourcefully and not just wasting your time. The love that people had for Public Enemy was just unf---ingbelievable! And earlier this month, at a public event in New York, Rick Rubin who began Def Jam in his NYU dorm and who has worked with Metallica and Johnny Cash confessed to the audience that he cried the first time he heard PEs Fight the Power. Asked why, he replied: It changed what rap could be.

hear thIS!
Errols cant miss list

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Jill Barber will fill Glen Gould Studio with her seductive voice tonight and Saturday. Dont miss her. 8 p.m. $29.50. Singer-songwriter Royal Wood is at the Rivoli Saturday. 8 p.m. $20. Swing by the Gladstone on Sunday for its Acoustic Family Brunch. 10 a.m. 1214 Queen St. W. 416-531-4635.