Loud Records was a legendary label. After breaking acts like Big Punisher, Wu tang, and Mobb Deep, it held over a decade of success before it was absorbed and hung out to dry by Sony music group.

“First of all, you get an opportunity to work with the best producers in the world. Who really has the opportunity to get an Akon, RZA or David Banner beat for 99 cents? The winner really is going to get a record deal and we’re going to make an incredible album. Just look at my track record: Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep, Big Pun, Three 6 Mafia, David Banner and Akon. It’s all about artist development.

Fans and industry heads alike feel that Loud was taken before it’s time, and that it was the one true place where an artist could flourish, and get the push they deserved. Rifkind responded to this, saying: “Yeah. It’s something that I fight with Universal Records [about] everyday. With David Banner, who would have taken somebody from Jackson, Mississippi? Even though his biggest [hit] was “Play,” [the album] didn’t sell [as expected]. But I blame that on one person and that’s me. I didn’t fight for what I really believe in. I got caught up in the whole radio game. That was my fault.”

“A lot of executives probably wouldn’t admit that. You got to. When I brush my teeth every morning, there is a lot on my plate. I gotta think about my immediate family, my business family and all my artists. We all have families to feed. When I’m wrong, I’m wrong. You have to accept responsibility. [With David Banner’s last album Certified,] I got caught up in the hype with the audience and the airplay. Then, I realized three or four weeks before the record was going to come out, we weren’t going to scan a hundred thousand [the first week]. Everybody looked at me like I was on crack. They said, “Why?” I told them, “There’s no movement on this record. The streets aren’t talking about it. It’s just another record.” It was a great record but [I knew] we weren’t going to break a hundred [thousand]. You have to take responsibility. It’s the only way you can have a real relationship with the artists.”

Loud’s fall shocked many, and the general Hip Hop public has wondered what happened. Steve explained the situation, offering: “There were four [main hip-hop] labels: Death Row, Bad Boy, Def Jam and Loud. Death Row, Def Jam and Bad Boy had their big radio records. They had incredible partners. [Dr.] Dre and Suge [Knight] had Jimmy [Iovine]. Lyor [Cohen] and Russell [Simmons] had Doug Morris. Puff had Clive Davis. I was stuck at a company…we had everybody first. Jay-Z or Dame Dash will tell you, they came to us before they went to Def Jam. RCA (original distributor for Loud) wouldn’t allow us to [sign them]. Nobody really believed in us. We were the grimy, street company. We didn’t really care about radio [but] we sold records.”

With that knowledge, it’s obvious to see that Steve had to change the way he did things a bit. He spoke on the difference, and how exactly he managed to organize a Wu Tang reunion. “I changed my philosophy because Universal would never understand my outlook. All they cared about was radio and research. They couldn’t tell you what the street [was feeling]. When I said Akon would be the biggest artist on my label, they all looked at me like I was crazy. So I took a million and a half out of my own pocket and broke him. We are willing to get our hands dirty and go in the mud. If we believe in something, we’re gonna fight.”

(On the Wu Tang Reunion) “RZA and me are family. That’s our first child. I never had closure with them. When we put out Iron Flag, I thought it was an incredible album, but it was more of a Sony [Records] cluster fuck. But [RZA and me] still spoke around once a week. We were like, “Can we do this?” Then, I flew in from London for VH1 Honors [last summer]. I still saw the charisma and energy on stage. I saw the response. So I said, let’s do this one last time. That’s how it went down.”

According to reports, Ghostface wasn’t as heavily involved with the project (which is dropping this summer), and it is still up in the air if Sony was going to allow the use of the old Loud name. SF offered his thoughts on the situation, saying: “He was on the road promoting his album [at the time of the announcement]. I spoke to him a couple of times. Was he having second thoughts? Yeah. But as far as I know, he’s in.” “Hopefully, Sony [Records] will let us use the Loud name for this one record.”

You’d think that bring together one of the most legendary groups in Hip-Hop back together was enough, but Steve revealed that he and SRC had even more in store for this year, with a big surprise lined up as well, involving Ma$e. “We got Pharoahe Monch, the Wu and David Banner coming this summer. We are [also] closing the Ma$e deal. His album is crazy.” [Nah], its SRC’s Ma$e now. We are doing a production and distribution deal with him. We don’t have a date for the album yet, but it will be [out] by the end of the year. [It’s] all brand new material.

It was thought impossible to get him away from Bad Boy Records if 50 Cent couldn’t do it, by Rifkind offered this quote: “Well, he’s[Ma$e] taking care of it. Him and Puff are working it out themselves”