hen Rawkus Records, the former haven of indie hip hop, went bankrupt in the late-90s and sold the controlling interests to Priority (and later, MCA), El-Producto didn't take things sitting down. Hailing from Company Flow, the underground group who proudly emblazoned "Independent as Fuck!" on their CD liner notes, El-P quickly went to work setting up his own label while extracting himself from the ashes of Rawkus's former glory. The result is Definitive Juxtaposition (Def Jux for short), a fervently independent hip hop label that looks to the future as much as it looks to hip hop's past glory days.

Def Jux's initial release was promising: an EP half-filled with Company Flow tracks, with the other half devoted to artists that would soon become pillars of the label: RJD2, Cannibal Ox, and Aesop Rock. But the label's breakthrough release came in May of 2001: Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein. A stark and unrelenting journey through the depths of postmodern New York's soul, The Cold Vein made ripples all over the music world, finding fans from hardcore underground heads to Elvis Costello. El-P's production played a huge role in the album's success, using unearthly synthesizer squalls and odd percussion loops to create a perfect soundscape of urban decay.

Subsequent releases raised Def Jux's profile even more. Aesop Rock's Labor Days upped the ante for tongue-twisting verbal sparring, while another label compilation hinted at the roster of talent still unmined. These releases, in addition to a smattering of singles, solidified Def Jux's aesthetic: independent and forward-thinking, but retaining the grit and grime of the street. Late-nineties indie rap labels (Rawkus included) often scoffed at the intensity of street rap, looking to draw a line between supposedly artistic "elevated" hip hop and low-brow gangsta rap. This unfortunate distinction still exists today, but Def Jux illustrates that the hierarchical division between the two worlds is illusory.

With a host of strong, and often amazing albums released in 2002 (including El-P's sprawling opus, Fantastic Damage, the future looks bright for Def Jux, even while most of the artists paint bleak outlooks on their records.

Label Roster Highlights: Company Flow, Cannibal Ox, Aesop Rock, El-P, RJD2, Mr. Lif

Five Essential Releases:
Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
Various Artists - Def Jux Presents Vol. 2
Aesop Rock - Daylight EP
El-P - Fantastic Damage
RJD2 - Deadringer