Def Jam is officially setting up shop in Chengdu because that city is basically the capital of Chinese hip-hop. This new division from Universal Music Group is leaning hard into the local street culture and creative vibes of the Sichuan province. They are calling the genre Guofeng Hip-hop, which is a wild mix of traditional Chinese storytelling and modern rap beats.
The label actually tapped local heavyweights like Xie Di, Yitai Wang, and Deng Dianguo to act as guest curators and talent scouts. These guys are responsible for finding the next big thing and mentoring new artists under the iconic brand that launched Rihanna and Justin Bieber. It is a huge move to make sure the music stays authentic to the local scene.
A massive partnership with Migu Music is also in the works to handle everything from talent discovery to selling merchandise. Since Migu is owned by China Mobile and has over 160 million users, the reach for this new label is going to be insane. They even held a launch party at Eastern Suburb Memory, which is a cool repurposed industrial space that hosted a whole exhibition on Def Jam history.
This expansion is part of a global takeover that recently saw the label hit Sweden and India. The big bosses like Adam Granite and Tunji Balogun are focused on giving Chinese artists a global platform while keeping their cultural roots intact. With Tim Pithouse running things from the New York headquarters, the goal is to turn Chengdu into an international music powerhouse.
The label actually tapped local heavyweights like Xie Di, Yitai Wang, and Deng Dianguo to act as guest curators and talent scouts. These guys are responsible for finding the next big thing and mentoring new artists under the iconic brand that launched Rihanna and Justin Bieber. It is a huge move to make sure the music stays authentic to the local scene.
A massive partnership with Migu Music is also in the works to handle everything from talent discovery to selling merchandise. Since Migu is owned by China Mobile and has over 160 million users, the reach for this new label is going to be insane. They even held a launch party at Eastern Suburb Memory, which is a cool repurposed industrial space that hosted a whole exhibition on Def Jam history.
This expansion is part of a global takeover that recently saw the label hit Sweden and India. The big bosses like Adam Granite and Tunji Balogun are focused on giving Chinese artists a global platform while keeping their cultural roots intact. With Tim Pithouse running things from the New York headquarters, the goal is to turn Chengdu into an international music powerhouse.
