Rifkind was born in Long Island, New York. He is also known as the son of Jules Rifkind of Spring Records who’s best known for his clients Millie Jackson and James Brown. While his father is inclined to jazz and R&B music, he found his strong connections with R&B and Rap music. He is also credited for the success of the first rap song recorded, FatBack Band’s King Tim III in 1979. Back then, he was still working for his father as a promotion man.
He was credited by XXL Magazine as the man “responsible for breaking in some of hip-hop’s biggest artist in his 25 years in the business.” It was when he moved to Los Angeles that he started his own venture. From 1986 to 1988, he managed the R&B group New Edition. It was in 1991 that he put up his own company, Loud Records, which allowed new artists to emerge in the market and etch their names in the music industry. He has been given citations for being the “tastemaker” of the new era of hip hop music and culture.
It was in 2002 that he sold Loud Records to Sony and later on put up Street Records Corporation (SRC). With his new company, he was able to partner with other businesses and launched several marketing campaigns for SanDisk, Adidas, Chief Executive Air and T-Mobile. The following year, he joined Universal/Motown Records as Vice President.