In 1991, after enjoying numerous success stories of pioneering hip-hop, Def Jam Records lost The Beastie Boys to Capitol, 3rd Bass broke up, co-founder Rick Rubin left to form Def American, Interscope Records emerged as major competition, the West Coast G-Funk scene threatened to take rap to the next level, and LL Cool J wasn’t selling as much as he once did. Enter Reginald Noble, now 55, who christened himself Redman, a rapper out of Newark who many industry pundits now look at as having saved the label.