The singles sold well, eventually leading to a distribution deal with CBS Records through Columbia Records the following year. This created a short-lived subsidiary label called OBR Records, short for Original Black Recordings, catered toward R&B artists — the first artist signed to that imprint was Oran “Juice” Jones, who enjoyed success with his hit single “The Rain”.
A few years later, Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen started an umbrella label called Rush Associated Labels to handle Def Jam and its numerous spinoff labels. RAL became the home to Nice & Smooth and EPMD after both acts were acquired due to the folding of their former label Sleeping Bag Records