Cold Chillin' Records

Cold Chillin' Records
Company type	Record label
Industry	Music industry
Founded	1987
Founder	Tyrone Williams
Defunct	1998
Fate	Catalog acquired by LandSpeed Records (now Traffic Entertainment)
Area served	United States
Key people	Len Fichtelberg (1930–2010)
Products	Hip hop music releases
Parent	Prism Records (initially a branch)

Cold Chillin' Records operated as a prominent record label during the peak era of hip-hop, spanning the late 1980s through the early 1990s. Established by manager Tyrone Williams and overseen by Len Fichtelberg (1930–2010), the label mainly showcased artists affiliated with the Juice Crew, a group centered around producer Marley Marl. The label discontinued its activities in 1998, with the majority of its music catalog being acquired by LandSpeed Records, a company based in Massachusetts that is currently known as Traffic Entertainment.

History

Initially, Cold Chillin' functioned as a branch of Prism Records before eventually merging with it under the guidance of Williams and Fichtelberg. In 1988, the label secured a distribution agreement lasting five years with Warner Bros. Records, which was fulfilled in its entirety. Nevertheless, Warner Bros. declined to release Kool G Rap and DJ Polo's third album, Live And Let Die, due to prevailing anti-gangsta rap sentiments and opposition to Time Warner following the Cop Killer controversy. As a result, Cold Chillin' took on independent distribution for this album and several others afterward, including a short-lived distribution partnership with Epic Street (a division of Epic Records), which released works by Grand Daddy I.U. and Kool G Rap.

The company also introduced the Livin' Large sub-label, which handled second albums from artists such as Roxanne Shante and YZ, distributing these through Tommy Boy Records as part of its connection with Warner Bros.

Following its closure in 1998, LandSpeed Records (now Traffic Entertainment Group) acquired the rights to Cold Chillin's catalog. Alongside labels like Ruthless, Death Row, and Rap-A-Lot Records, Cold Chillin' is acknowledged for its influential role in the foundation of early hip hop. Since 2006, LandSpeed has reissued many classic albums from Cold Chillin's collection while maintaining their original cover art. It is important to note that Big Daddy Kane’s albums remain under Warner Bros., and Kool G Rap’s 4,5,6 continues to be held by Epic Records.

Albums

Albums denoted with (+) were distributed via Warner Bros. Records’ affiliate Reprise Records. Titles marked with (*) were distributed through Epic Street. Releases indicated by (§) came out on the Livin' Large sub-label and were distributed by Tommy Boy Records.