The Greatest Record Labels Of All Time: Ruffhouse Records
As part of DX’s series on Hip Hop’s greatest labels, we take a look inside of Ruffhouse Records, the breeding ground for The Fugees, Nas, Cypress Hill, and many others.
It was the house that Chris Schwartz and Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo built. Ruffhouse Records, known for catapulting the careers of some of Hip Hop’s finest in the ‘90s, was a breeding ground for talent that still echoes today. The decade-long reign of Ruffhouse included moving units (in the hundred millions) for acts like The Fugees, Nas, Cypress Hill, Kris Kross, and many others. Ruffhouse was also responsible for the release of Lauryn Hill’s epochal The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill in 1998. The label dissolved a year later, with the two masterminds moving on to other ventures. However, the contributions of Ruffhouse Records to Hip Hop and beyond, remains a mainstay in music history to date. Take a tour through the doors of Ruffhouse Records, as we recall some of the label’s greatest moments, as seen through the eyes of their artists.
