Ruff Ryders Entertainment

Ruff Ryders Entertainment
File:Ruff Ryders Logo.jpg
Parent company	Universal Music Group
Founded	1988
Founder	Chivon, Dee, and Waah Dean
Distributor(s)	Interscope (US) Polydor (Outside US) Artemis (US) / Universal Motown Records Group
Genre	Hip hop, R&B
Country of origin	US
Official website	http://www.ruffryders.com

Ruff Ryders Entertainment is a New York-based record label and management company, specializing in hip hop music. It was founded in 1988 by Chivon Dean and her brothers Dee and Waah, uncles of producer Swizz Beatz. The misspelling is deliberate, and a take off of Theodore Roosevelt's band of Rough Riders, the 1st Volunteer Cavalry Regiment during the Spanish-American War.

Ruff Ryders' founders were initially famous for managing rapper DMX, who became a multi-platinum star for Def Jam Records in the late-1990s. After DMX's success, the management company started its own label imprint through Interscope Records, and had success with releases from female rapper Eve, former Bad Boy Records group The L.O.X. and its main rapper Jadakiss, Drag-On, and newcomer Jin, winner of BET's 106 & Park freestyle MC battle competition. The Deans' nephew Swizz Beatz is the main producer for most of the acts on the roster. In 2006 Cassidy was signed to the label through Swizz Beatz along with Full Surface labelmate Yung Wun.

Founder

• Darrin "Dee" Dean
• Joaquin "Waah" Dean
• Chivon Dean

Artists

• D-Block (Ruff Ryders/D-Block/Interscope)
  • Jadakiss (Ruff Ryders/Roc-A-Fella/D-Block)
  • Styles P (Ruff Ryders/Koch Records/D-Block)
  • Sheek Louch (Ruff Ryders/Koch Records/D-Block)
• DMX (Ruff Ryders/Sony BMG/Columbia Records/Bloodline Records
• Eve (Ruff Ryders/Full Surface/Aftermath/Geffen)
• Swizz Beatz (Ruff Ryders/Full Surface/Universal Records)
• Lynne Timmes (aka LT) (Ruff Pop)
• Cassidy (Ruff Ryders/Full Surface/J Records)
• Yung Wun (Ruff Ryders/Full Surface/J Records)
• Kartoon (Ruff Ryders)
• Flashy (Ruff Ryders)
• Infa-Red & Cross (Ruff Ryders)
• Aja Smith (Ruff Ryders)
• My-My (Ruff Ryders)

Former Artists

• Fiend (1998-2001)
• Jin (2002-2005)
• Drag-On (1998-2006)

Producers

• Swizz Beatz
• Neo Da Matrix

Labels Founded By Ruff Ryder Artists

• D-Block Records Founded By Jadakiss, Styles P & Sheek Louch
• Bloodline Records Founded By DMX
• Full Surface Founded By Swizz Beatz

Releases

DMX

• It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998)
• Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood (1998)
• ...And Then There Was X (1999)
• The Great Depression (2001)
• Grand Champ (2003)
• Year of the Dog...Again (2006)
• The Definition of X: The Pick of The Litter (Greatest Hits) (2007)
• Walk With Me Now and You'll Fly With Me Later (2008)

Drag-On

• Opposite of H2O (2000)
• Hell and Back (2004)

Eve

• First Lady (1999)
• Scorpion (2001)
• Eve-Olution (2002)
• Here I Am (2007)

Jadakiss

• Kiss tha Game Goodbye (2001)
• Kiss of Death (2004)

Styles P

• A Gangster and a Gentleman (2002)
• Time Is Money (2006)
• The Ghost Sessions (2007)
• Super Gangster, Extraordinary Gentleman (2007)

Sheek Louch

• Walk Witt Me (2003)
• After Taxes (2005)
• Silverback Gorilla (2008)

The L.O.X.

• Money, Power & Respect
• We Are The Streets (2000)

Jin

• The Rest Is History (2004)

Ruff Ryders

• Ryde or Die Vol. 1 (1999)
• Ryde or Die Vol. 2 (2000)
• Ryde or Die Vol. 3: In The "R" We Trust (2001)
• The Redemption Vol. 4 (2005)

Swizz Beatz

• Presents G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories (2002)
• One Man Band Man (2007)

Cassidy

• B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story (2007)

Kartoon

• 1st Driveby (2007)

See also

• List of record labels

External links

• Official Ruff Ryders Website