Nowadays, it is not uncommon for hopeful musicians to release their music without relying on a record label or professional recording studio.
Even so, a record label is still the way to go for most aspiring artists.
After all, a record label is influential, well-known, and respected; it can be the difference between an artist’s success and failure.
There have been plenty of record labels over the years.
However, very few have been owned by Black people.
And there are even fewer Black woman-owned record labels, whether they were sole owners or partnered with someone.
But who are these Black women who stood tall in an area they are massively underrepresented?
Sylvia Robinson – Sugar Hill Records
In 1979, Sylvia Robinson started Sugar Hill Records with her husband, Joe Robinson.
Disco had just died, so she focused on hip hop instead.
She recorded the brand’s first song: “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang.
The song was an instant hit and became the first rap song to reach the top 40 in the Billboard Hot 100.
Other hip-hop groups soon joined Sugar Hill Records, including Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Sequence, Treacherous Three, West Street Mob, and Funky Four Plus One.
Sylvia even produced a music video for a young Spike Lee.
Sugar Hill Records went defunct in 1986, but it had set a strong foundation for hip-hop.
Sylvia Robinson has earned her title as “The Mother of Hip-Hop”, and Sugar Hill Records will always be a benchmark for Black woman-owned record labels.
Vivian Carter – Vee-Jay Records
Vivian Carter founded Vee-Jay Records in 1953 with her husband, James Bracken.
The label did not focus on a particular genre; instead, it included multiple genres from rock & roll to gospel, R&B, soul, blues, and jazz.
Their most prominent artists were the R&B group, The Impressions.
The group had multiple hits during the 1960s, prominent in the Civil Rights Movement.
They are inductees into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and the 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame.
Vee-Jay Records was also the first label for artists like Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Staple Singers, and Wayne Shorter.
The record label even released the first Beatles album in the United States.
At the time, this was a label to be reckoned with.
Hathor Entertainment
When it comes to Black woman-owned record labels, this is among the newest and most exciting.
Hathor Entertainment is a new independent record label, and it is wholly owned by two Black women, Selena B. Hunter and her daughter, Nia.
Its main goal is to make music more inclusive by empowering women in pop, hip-hop, and R&B.
Ultimately, the brand hopes to support 100 women musical artists.
It will give its artists mental and emotional support and a safe space.
