Def Jam Joins Forces With Philadelphia’s Stack or Starve Records

Def Jam Recordings announced on Friday (March 3) a joint venture with Philadelphia-based entertainment company Stack or Starve Records. The full service label will help develop the careers of their growing roster and newest signees D Sturdy, the Philly Goats and Saadi Four.

“Def Jam is one of the greats, I want Stack or Starve to be recognized in the same vein one day. With this partnership, I want to help our artists build wealth, understand financial literacy and most importantly, I want them to be able to help others and pay it forward,” said Curtis “Boonah” Brinkley, CEO of Stack or Starve. “We aim to do this by connecting them with financial advisors and wealth coaches, building real estate portfolios and helping them diversify their assets. The strategic moves that will be put in place for our artists and team will put them in a position that began with music but elevated them in all realms of life. Personally, I want them to be able to take care of their kids and families.”

The primary focus of the venture will be empowering, teaching and expanding Stack or Starve’s roster by leveraging Def Jam’s robust resources including A&R, marketing, PR, distribution, creative, touring, management, promo and more.

Stack or Starve Records was founded by Philly natives Brinkley and Shana Sherman, Def Jam’s director of A&R. Sherman has a history of working with major labels such as RCA and BMG alongside executives like L.A. Reid and Tunji Balogun. She has also aided in breaking and developing viral artists such as Armani White and Raveena and has worked with Maxwell, K. Michelle, India.Arie, Ledisi, and more.

The company was founded with the belief of improving the lives of young people in Philadelphia and its surrounding neighborhoods. With that goal in mind, the label strives to become a global name as it seeks to grow and empower artists around the world.

“We want to change the culture of music from this era of trending and virality to a movement that’s being spurred right out of Philly,” said Sherman. “The kids on our roster have created sounds and cultural moments that cannot be duplicated; we’re working with kids who have started their own waves, built their own organic followings, and we’re helping them achieve their goals and accomplish their vision, seeing this come to life puts the fun back into my job and the joy back in music.”

Coinciding with today’s news is the announcement of D Sturdy and the Philly Goats signing with Def Jam via the Stack or Starve partnership, joining label mate Saadi Four. In 2018, D Sturdy and the Philly Goats got their start as a Philadelphia dance and music collective comprised of D Sturdy, Sou and Spence.

“We, as a team, always speak of ownership, so the joint venture was something that we all wanted from day one. In doing that, Def Jam recognized and gave us a great opportunity to come together,” said Brinkley.” “I have a great partner, Shana Sherman, and we have a team of young and dedicated individuals working extremely hard. We invested a lot of time and resources into finding and developing several hot young artists and providing them with the platform to be recognized. We are definitely building something special here, and it’s all based on the grind, hard work and great talent.”