Chung King Recording Studios, formerly known as Chung King House of Metal, is 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 in an old restaurant in Chinatown—Chung King, and d
uring 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. The new age of music still requires Chung King Studios in many ways and still hosts world-famous artists such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Jay Z, which makes owner John King very sought after in the music industry.[1]
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, Notorious BIG, and LL Cool J back when hip hop music was still a rumble in the Bronx. 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. The studio is well established as the recording environment of choice for a number of top-tier artists and producers. Today, Chung King Studios is a multi-million dollar facility located on 36 West 37th Street, New York, NY, in Midtown Manhattan, and is recognized as one of the most successful and respected audio recording and production facilities in the world. The studio has 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 has produced records that have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, generating over $4.5 billion in sales
