Jan Delay - Eimsbush Label

Eimsbush Label

In 1997, Jan Delay founded his own record label Eimsbush together with partners from the Hamburg hip-hop scene. The label's main goal was to support and guide fresh underground talents and pave their way into the music business without having them "selling out" to the major labels. The label was initiated by the German hip hop scene while it was going through a boom phase in the mid and late 90s, which led to "every Horst being allowed to rap if only he can hold up a mic" (Jan Delay, MTV Germany, 2007). As a result, real talent stepped back for fear of being seen as sellouts by the underground hip-hop scene.

The label was shut down in 2003 due to financial reasons and as a result of the "naive idea of just believing in talent outside the mainstream" (Jan Delay, MTV Germany, 2007). Former partners of Eimsbush later collaborated with Delay, founded their own labels, agencies, or signed with other labels.