G.W.K. Records

West-coast rapper Havoc/Havikk founded the label G.W.K. (Gangstas Wit Knowledge) with his group South Central Cartel and was intrigued to get a foot in the rap game which became heavily dominated by the rise of gangsta rap music. In 1992 the group put out their album South Central Madness distributed through Pump/Quality Records. The next year Havikk and South Central Cartel member Prode'je released released an independent project on the label as well. The East Coast label Def Jam wanted to cash in on the new popularity of west coast rap and picked up the group soon after. At this point material from G.W.K. Records was being distributed on a larger scale thanks to Rush Asscoiated Labels. After the group was released from Def Jam three years later, G.W.K. became an independent label once again. At the same time Havikk and South Central Cartel member Prode'je pursued to sign various acts to the label such as Sh'Killa and Murder Squad. By the late 90's works by South Central Cartel were released on Mouthpiece Records.