The Sun

Also known by its Arabic name As-Shams or الشمس, As-Shams/The Sun Records is an independent South African jazz label founded in 1974. Named by Abdullah Ibrahim (still recording as "Dollar Brand" at the time) and run by Rashid Vally from the Kohinoor World of Music on Kort Street in downtown Johannesburg, it was responsible for 1974's hugely-popular Mannenberg ~ 'Is Where It's Happening' album (distributed nationwide by Gallo Records due to high demand). It also reissued acquisitions from the Joburg Records catalogue and its own predecessor, Soultown (2). Along with sister labels Mandla, Roots, and Kalamazoo, it was active in the 1990s as part of the Sun Music Group. As-Shams/The Sun resumed production in 2020 with both new artist and archival releases.