The star confesses she was plagued by 'self-doubt' and taken aback by her success. I had never planned to be an artist,' says SYA. writing was the reason I am doing all of this. 'First and foremost, I consider myself a writer. He connected her with Def Jam, which had started a push into Southeast Asia, seeking to capitalise on a new wave of regional stars and a youthful demographic with increasing disposable income. The artist, who spent much of her childhood overseas, burst onto the music scene almost by accident when she posted some of her work online, drawing the attention of well-known local rapper SonaOne. 'What does (religion) have to do with me as an artist, and what I create?' she said. Most members of Malaysia's ethnic Malay Muslim community follow a moderate form of the religion and while the majority of women wear a headscarf, there is no law requiring it.Д«ut conservative Islam has been gaining ground, pushed by hardline politicians and preachers, accompanied by growing criticism of any activities and behaviour seen as undermining the faith.ДЇor SYA - real name Nur Batrisya Mohammad Nazri - art and religion should be kept firmly separate, however. SYA says she is facing down the 'patriarchal mindset' and 'sexualisation' of those who don't conform to the cliched expectations of Muslim women While Malaysia is a relatively affluent country, society remains largely conservative, with critics saying women's rights are not sufficiently protected and harassment is common. 'I've had a lot of disturbing comments,' the rapper reveals, adding that her faith has been questioned too. What's your experience with Def Jam Recordings? Tell us in the comments section.Lauded by the industry as a rising star, the 25-year-old says she faces online abuse from those who believe her behaviour is not appropriate for a young Muslim woman.

This Def Jam mix is by no means definitive, but it reflects my experiences with a label that will always be, as Nice & Smooth once put it, for 'Hip-Hop Junkies.' Club bangers like Sisqo's 'Thong Song' could share shelf space with political flamethrowers like Public Enemy. The genius of Def Jam lay in its ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still sell tons of records. Of course, this was also the label that gave us Jay-Z, Kanye West and countless other game-changers. (Yes, I eventually got a real ticket out.) More recently, Ghostface Killah's FishScale was the killer soundtrack for my daily subway commute in Brooklyn.

In college, when I was working a crappy restaurant job, we used to blast DMX's 'Ruff Ryder Anthem' as we closed down the kitchen.

LL Cool J's 'Around the Way Girl' (on cassette single, no less) got me hyped for my first junior-high dance. Looking back, I'm struck by how often Def Jam tracks were lurking in the background. Or remember the bedtime stories of the eyepatch-wearing Slick Rick? Sick. Songs from The Cactus Album like 'The Gas Face' and 'Brooklyn-Queens' were my personal anthems. Everyone talks about The Beastie Boys (and where would they be without Def Jam?), but the white boys of 3rd Bass were my heroes.

The smuggled tapes from a friend's older brother, the after-school ritual of Yo! MTV Raps - this was my salvation. I grew up amid the Great Plains, and hip-hop always felt like my ticket out for a while, it seemed I marched to the beat of a different Def Jam record every week. A new glossy coffee-table book, Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label, reveals that aspect of the label's legacy in vivid detail. What you may not know, unless you lived outside of New York (like me), is how instrumental it was in bringing hip-hop to the masses. You know the little story of Def Jam Recordings, started way back in history by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. With Rick and Russell in an NYU dormitory Now, here's a little story I've got to tell Music Interviews Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons: Def Jam's First 25 Years

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