Chung King Studios

Chung King Recording Studios, formerly known as Chung King House of Metal,[1] was a New York City recording studio founded by John King with financial backing of the Etches brothers and engineer expertise of Steve Ett, which became a site of many classic punk and hip hop recordings. King started Secret Society Records in 1979 before building a studio on Centre Street in Chinatown—Chung King, and during early work with Def Jam Recordings, Rick Rubin dubbed the studio the Chung King House of Metal—and therefore changed the name of the company in 1986. Modern musicians and engineers had used Chung King Studios in many ways and the studio hosted world-famous artists such as Amy Winehouse, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Jay Z.[2]

The studio gained its reputation in the international recording industry by the early commercial success of artists such as Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., and LL Cool J when hip hop music was still an undeveloped New York music genre. As a result of the affiliation of such hip hop artists and those who subsequently came to embrace Chung King, both established and upcoming, Chung King Studios came to be known as the "Abbey Road of Hip Hop."

Chung King Studios had a multimillion-dollar facility located on 170 Varick Street, New York, NY and was recognized as one of the most successful and respected audio recording and production facilities in the world. The studio had several times been nominated by Mix magazine Tech Awards for Outstanding Acoustic Design, and founder and owner John King has received numerous RIAA Industry Awards and a SPARS award for recording excellence.

Chung King Studios had produced records that have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, generating over $4.5 billion in sales.[3]