MERRY DEFCEMBER, AND PASS THE JAM

On the heels of their "Def Jam the 13th" campaign last month, which saw multiple new releases on the label swarm the marketplace, Steve Bartels and team are launching their "Defcember" initiative with three new albums: Jeremih's Late Nights, Rick Ross' Black Market and Babyface's Return of the Tender Lover.

Also on the docket for Defcember: August Alsina's This Thing Called Life (12/11) and Pusha T's elaborately titled KING PUSH: Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude (12/18)

Two versions of Black Market currently sit in the iTunes Top 10, while Late Night is #17 and Lover is now at #27. Def Jam is of course now also seeing huge album and single sales for Justin Bieber and growth on newcomer Alessia Cara.