Jeff Sledge, the legendary Jive Records’ A&R talked about touring with Premo and Guru. He also shared his insights on keeping up with the different hip hop markets.
During a recent talk with Karmaloop TV, Sledge shared his thoughts and stories-worth-telling about his lengthy hip hop career, his stint with the now defunct Jive Records and the artists he had been lucky to work with.
Sledge had been in the industry for 22 years now. His career started in 1989 with Wild Pitch Records where he had the chance to tour with Gang Starr and other important hip hop acts and authorities. “The artists that I worked with at that point [while at Wild Pitch] were Gang Starr, Chill Rob G, Main Source, Lord Finesse,” he shared. “Gang Starr left and went to a label called Chrysalis Records, which was a rock that kinda decided to stick its foot in the rap game not because they like it but because it was making paper…” Sledge recalled how close he was with Gang Starr because of the numerous tours and travels they had to do together.
Sledge then spoke of his many years as an A&R with Jive. He believes that what made him different from the other A&R’s during his time was his willingness to always learn more about the different types and trends of hip hop across the U.S. This is the reason why Jive was composed of various artists with diverse expertise. “I did promotions when I first started out…and the difference between me and most of the A&R cats and the promotions cats at the time was that…I always had a real interest in radio,” he quipped. He recalled talking to radio DJ’s to ask them about their market. “I would always be asking them, ‘What’s going on in your market? Tell me what’s the hottest record is in Cleveland.”
Up until now, Jeff Sledge’s interest for the diverse hip hop market trend has not faded.






