Def Jux marks the beginning of backpacker hip-hop

They thought of themselves as "true schoolers" – devotees of hip-hop's core values – and coalesced around bands such as Jurassic 5 and indie labels such as Rawkus that kept the flame of hip-hop creativity burning amid the era of shiny suits and bling. In 1999, Company Flow left Rawkus and leader El-P set up the Def Jux imprint. Until he mothballed it in 2010, Def Jux acted as a counterbalance and conscience to hip‑hop's commercial mainstream.