Priority Records

Founding

Priority Records was started in Los Angeles in 1985 by Bryan Turner, Mark Cerami and Steve Drath, three former executives of the K-tel compilation company. Early funding came from R-tek, headed by Ray and Harold Kives, which took a 50 percent stake that Priority bought back in 1987. The label’s first notable success was not rap at all but the novelty act the California Raisins. The company was based on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Rise

Priority became a major force in rap by distributing Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records. N.W.A’s “Straight Outta Compton” (1989) was released through Ruthless and Priority and was certified triple platinum. Eazy-E’s “Eazy-Duz-It” (1988) also came out through the partnership and went double platinum. Ice Cube stayed with Priority after leaving N.W.A, and his solo debut “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted,” released on May 16, 1990, went gold within two weeks, reached number 19 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum. The company became known for a street-based marketing approach that sold records in large numbers without depending on mainstream radio.

Key releases and distribution deals

Through the 1990s Priority acted as a distributor and partner for independent rap labels. It handled Jay-Z’s debut “Reasonable Doubt” (1996) for Roc-A-Fella Records; the album sold 43,000 copies in its first week and was later certified platinum. Its most profitable partnership was with Master P’s No Limit Records. “Ghetto D” (1997) reached number 1 and went triple platinum, the “I’m Bout It” soundtrack sold 300,000 copies in its first week, and “MP Da Last Don” (1998) sold 495,000 copies in its first week and was certified four times platinum. Silkk the Shocker’s “Made Man” debuted at number 1 in January 1999 and was certified platinum. Priority also released Mack 10’s gold album “The Recipe” (1998) and distributed Death Row in the years after its Interscope deal ended.

Sale and later years

EMI bought half of Priority in 1996 and the rest in 1998. The company’s operations were folded into Capitol Records in 2001, and it was fully absorbed in 2004. The name was revived in 2006 and again in 2009, when Snoop Dogg was named creative chairman. Later relaunches came in 2013 through a Capitol joint venture and in 2015 as a service for developing artists. Priority now sits within Universal Music Group through the Interscope Capitol Labels Group. Its greatest influence came from showing that an independent could sell millions of gangsta rap records through its own channels.