Jay-Z, Damon Dash, and Kareem 'Biggs' Burke co-found Roc-A-Fella Records

Why it matters

Shawn Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke founded Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995, in Brooklyn. They founded it because nobody would sign Jay-Z. The big labels had passed. The mid-tier labels had passed. The three of them put up the money to press copies of Reasonable Doubt themselves, distributed it through Priority for a percentage, and put the album out in June 1996. What happened next is the longest sustained run of any rap label in the 1990s and 2000s. Reasonable Doubt went platinum. In My Lifetime Vol. 1 (1997) signed with Def Jam for distribution but Roc kept ownership of masters. Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998) sold five million copies and won the Grammy for Best Rap Album. The Roc roster picked up Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Cam'ron, Freeway, and most consequentially a producer named Kanye West, whose 2004 debut College Dropout would change the trajectory of the entire label. By the time Roc-A-Fella formally folded in 2013, Jay had bought Def Jam, sold it, started Tidal, and become a billionaire. The whole thing started with three guys who could not get the major labels to return their calls. You should remember that when you read the next industry-changing label-founding story.