The label was named after Willie "Ill Will" Graham, Nas' childhood neighbor and best friend, who was shot dead on May 23, 1992, when both were teenagers.

[1] Nas co-founded the label in 1999 before the release of his fourth album, Nastradamus,[2] with the help of his then-manager, Steve Stoute.

After signing to Def Jam in 2005, Nas relaunched the label under the name The Jones Experience, as an imprint of Def Jam Recordings.

[2] In 2014, Nas co-founded Mass Appeal Records with Peter Bittenbender of the company Decon.

The label is the music division of the Mass Appeal Media Group with distribution handled by The Orchard.