Def American Recordings was founded by Rick Rubin in 1988 after splitting with then-partner Russell Simmons and Def Jam Recordings because of the former’s increasingly eclectic tastes. The first-ever Def American release was Slayer’s Reign in Blood, which, ironically, had a Def Jam logo on its first pressing. However, because Simmons felt that it was not in line with Def Jam, and because Def Jam’s then-distributor, Columbia/CBS Records, refused to release it, it was released through Geffen and Warner Bros., and Rubin took the rights of the release to the new label with him after the split. Initially, it was distributed by Geffen Records through Warner Bros. Records, but when Geffen refused to distribute the self-titled album by the Geto Boys and the controversy it caused, Rubin switched distribution to Warner Bros. proper, which released all subsequent Def American titles.

In 1993, Rubin found the word “def” in a dictionary, and renamed the label American Recordings after a large mock-funeral that was presided over by the Reverend Al Sharpton. Rubin felt that the mainstreaming of the word “def” was against the anti-establishment image that he was trying to project for the company.

Important note: All Def American product that was in-print at the time of the name switch was repressed with the new American Recordings logo.