RJD2 has come a long way since he first started making beats in his bedroom more than a decade ago. Back then, he couldn’t get any labels to pay attention to his sample-driven instrumental funk hop. Nowadays, the Philly-based DJ, producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist (aka “Ramble” John Krohn, RJ for short) is celebrating freedom from label support all together with the launch of his own label, RJ’s Electrical Connections.

“It just seems to me the most sensible way to approach the future,” he told me in a phone interview as he geared up for the holidays and his forthcoming tour. RJ [pictured, photo by Dan McMahon] is now a free agent without help (or hindrance) from a label, which puts him in control of the creative and business aspects of his life and cuts out the middle man entirely. “We don’t know how things are going to shake out, how to monetize art, how to sell music, so I’d rather be in a position where I’m undershooting the market. No responsibilities or overhead to worry about.”

RJD2’s decision to work for himself is unsurprising in an industry where the need for label support seems to be dwindling. “What I really lose is the so-called ‘muscle’ that a larger label would have. In my experience, that muscle is questionable. I’m not saying it’s horseshit, but I don’t have complete faith that every single medium-to-large indie label is putting 100 percent of their resources and energy into every single record they put out.”

This article appears in Jan 6-12, 2010.