Def Jam Is the Most Successful Hip-Hop Label Of All Time, According to One Study

The label has successfully racked up 152 charting songs on the Billboard Charts.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

You may remember Matt Daniels from last year'sinfographic that ranked rappers by their wide vocabulary but this year, he's back with something new. The New York City consultant took a look at the history of record labels and the Billboard charts to come to the conclusion of what label was most successful in terms of chart-toping hits. Daniels' study concludes that Def Jam—the label that Rick Rubin founded in his college dorm—is the most successful hip-hop label of all time.

According to Daniels' analysis, Def Jam has racked up 152 charting songs which have all together spent 1925 weeks on the Billboard Charts. Not too far behind Def Jam is Young Money, Roc-A-Fella, Jive and finally, Bad Boy. This news comes on the heels of former Def Jam chairman and current CEO of Epic Records L.A. Reid saying Mariah Carey was the one who urged him to offer Jay Z the job as President and CEO of Def Jam back in 2004. Check out Matt's full analysis here.

Latest in Music