Hip Hop Label Def Jux On Hiatus

El-P

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The boss of decade old New York based hip hop label Definitive Jux has said he is putting the business on hiatus in terms of releasing new recordings, so he can concentrate on his own musical output and the company can re-invent itself as the music business evolves.

EL-P, real name Jaime Meline, issued an official statement about the label this week following several weeks of speculation that the venture was about to close. Meline says the label will continue to operate a website and sell its catalogue, and that plans are afoot for new ventures in the future. However, following a retrospective compo and remix album package, there will be no upcoming Def Jux releases while Meline himself concentrates more on his artist and producer projects.

Confirming he would step down as the label's Artistic Director, Meline said this week: "This means change for Jux. Of course we'll still have our website, we will still sell our catalogue, merch and more as well as bring you news and updates on all our projects and artists. We will be releasing [the late Camu Tao's album] 'King Of Hearts', a Def Jux remix compilation, a ten year anniversary retrospective and some other goodies. But then as a traditional record label Def Jux will effectively be put on hiatus".

He continued: "We are not closing, but we are changing. The process is already underway, and the last several months (for those wondering what the hell we've been up to) have been spent dealing with the technical aspects of wrapping up the label in its current form and re-imagining our collective and individual futures".

Source: UnLimited/CMU