Since his retirement, Jay-Z says he’s been courted by several labels. But not only to rap: They want to give the Jiggaman an executive position, and one such position could be the president of Def Jam Records.
For the last few weeks, rumors have been running rampant that Jay will soon take the job, which is second in command to Def Jam CEO LA Reid. Some say the deal will be finalized in less than a week. Jay does acknowledge that he’s been getting offers, but says he hasn’t accepted anything yet.
“It’s just talks in the air right now,” he said Thursday in New York. “This has been going on for a minute with Def Jam and with other companies. I’m appreciative of the respect they’re showing an artist such as myself. We’ll see what happens.”
Jay also elaborated on the future of his own label, Roc-A-Fella. He said that despite seeing artists he took under his wing, such as the Young Gunz and Kanye West, blossoming this year, Hov says he and fellow Roc principles Dame Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burkes have been talking about selling the company.
“I feel like it’s a new chapter for me,” he explained. “I want to do a bunch of different things. These [artists on Roc-A-Fella] are situated. I don’t know how my situation is going to turn out with Roc-A-Fella, with Def Jam, with any other company. I know I wanna reset and refocus and basically start anew. Even if it’s at the same place, it’s gonna be anew: a new Def Jam, a new Roc-A-Fella.”
Jay said that whatever he does in the music industry, he plans on cultivating young talent as well as handling business affairs.
“I think I can serve both capacities,” he said. “More so on the artist end, as far as developing artists and careers, than just sitting there and pushing pens.”
As for all the talk about Foxy Brown being the first artist signed to Jay’s new label, S. Carter Records, Hov says that too is up in the air.
“S. Carter just exits in everyone’s imaginations at this time,” he said. “Me and Foxy do have a history together – I think it’s a classic combination. We’ll see what happens. Nothing’s signed yet.”
