President Jay-Z

[Si82]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...m/music_jayz_dc

Jay-Z Named Def Jam President/CEO

 

Wed Dec 8, 3:28 PM ET

 

By Tamara Conniff

 

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Rapper Jay-Z has been named president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, home of such acts as Grammy frontrunner Kanye West and rap veteran LL Cool j.

 

He will report to Antonio "L.A." Reid, chairman of the Island Def Jam Music Group, which is part of Universal Music Group. Based in IDJ's New York offices, Jay-Z will officially take his new post on Jan. 3.

 

Jay-Z (real name: Shawn Carter), will continue to run his record company Roc-a-Fella. IDJ recently bought the remaining 50% stake in the label from Jay-Z and his business partners Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke.

 

Over nearly a decade the Roc-a-Fella brand has spawned other ventures, including the Roca Wear clothing line, films including "Fade to Black" and "State Property," the 40/40 nightclub and a Reebok sneaker line.

 

"After 10 years of successfully running Roc-a-Fella. Shawn has proven himself to be an astute businessman, in addition to the brilliant artistic talent that the world sees and hears," said Reid in a statement. "I can think of no one more relevant and credible in the hip hop community to build upon Def Jam's fantastic legacy and move the company into its next groundbreaking era."

 

"I have inherited two of the most important brands in hip-hop, Def Jam and Roc-a-Fella," says Jay-Z. "I feel this is a giant step for me and the entire artistic community."

 

Jay-Z announced his "retirement" as an artist after the release of "The Black Album" (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam), which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and yielded three Grammy nominations for him Tuesday. But retirement hasn't been easy for the superstar -- his mash-up collaboration "MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups Presents Jay-Z/Linkin Park: Collision Course" (Warner Bros.) debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 this week.

 

Reuters/Billboard

[kkktookmybabyaway]

Best of luck to him, I guess...

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

It's really great to see that Jay-Z can have this type of success. I don't want to make a racial comment but this proves the Black miniorty is capable of running multi-billion dollar industries and Jay Z isn't the only one but he's becoming a strong postive role model for young black america. Hopefully he can strongly promote and preach that our youth doesn't need to resort to selling drugs and prostitution and that with proper business acumen, they can succeed just as well.

 

I'd like for young urban america to look at this guy as a postitive for his capabilities as a businessman and look away from the low rent trash atheletes and rappers they do of today.

[Hogan Made Wrestling]

It's really great to see that Jay-Z can have this type of success. I don't want to make a racial comment but this proves the Black miniorty is capable of running multi-billion dollar industries and Jay Z isn't the only one but he's becoming a strong postive role model for young black america. Hopefully he can strongly promote and preach that our youth doesn't need to resort to selling drugs and prostitution and that with proper business acumen, they can succeed just as well.

 

I'd like for young urban america to look at this guy as a postitive for his capabilities as a businessman and look away from the low rent trash atheletes and rappers they do of today.

The problem is that whenever a black artist becomes successful in the business end of things (Puffy, Dre, Jay-Z) others immediately claim that he "sold out".

[2GOLD]

Needs to give back my name first.

Bastard.

[ant_7000]

^Not necessarily, as long as Jay doesn't screw artists (which have been Def Jam's reputation lately) he should get props for. I wonder what Dame Dash is going to do now that the ROC is not 100% his anymore.

[Ripper]

^Not necessarily, as long as Jay doesn't screw artists (which have been Def Jam's reputation lately) he should get props for. I wonder what Dame Dash is going to do now that the ROC is not 100% his anymore.

I figure he will shrugg and continue to roll around in his enormous piles of money. He, Jay and Biggs came off like bandits in that selling their part of the company.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

I really don't see Roc-a-Fella making a whole lot of money without Jay-Z on board.