According to Reuters, Jay, who still has one album left in his recording contract with Def Jam, will focus on his expanding franchise of 40/40 Nightclubs over the next year and other businesses.
"Now it's time for me to take on new challenges," he said in a statement. "I am pleased to have had the opportunity to build upon the Def Jam legacy," he added.
No explanation was given as to why Jay quit the executive suit.
In other Jay Z news, the Roc Boy will be closing out the year with a bang--performing live in Las Vegas on New Year's weekend.
In other news…
Tickets for the show, which sold out within 2 hours of going on sale and were originally priced up to $225 each, are now selling on eBay for as much as $750 a pair.
COMMENTS
just cuase there selling for $750 dont mean they sold, after a search on ebay i saw 3 tickets for $400 with no bids so yea i doubt if anyway is paying that much
Those from ppl who already bought tickets though. Jay sold that out in less than 10 minutes and the tickets were between 100.00 - 250.00 -- Ebay users don't have input on how much Jay gets off tickets sales his money comes from ticket masters not an auction site.
Hah I was thinking that he heard the whole mixtape. Roll Call goes at Def Jam better than Talk to Em.
But either way I'm glad Jay-Z is stepping down, even if he is doing it after he killed everyone's promotional budget for the "out of the blue" album American Gangster (which was hot btw), I think he should stay an artist and do his outside def jam stuff, but as a label CEO (Black Republican)..nahh.
Is it the new thing to hop on Joe Buddens nuts now a days? B/C a lot of yall niggas act like Joe Budden is the second coming of Biggie or something.
Buddens been out for a minute and he still ain't blew up yet. He had Def Jam supportin him well before Jay-Z was prez. He had a hot bubble gum single "pump it up" but after that he fell of the face of the Earth. Nigga is a one hit wonder.
Yall niggas on drugs if u think Buddens low profile ass had something to do with Jay leavin. Who is Buddens to Jay-Z? A NOBODY! IS Buddens a legend? NO. Has he had a classic album? NO! Yall retarded ass niggas need to hop off Joe Buddens nuts and stop actin like Buddens is on Hov's level.
Jay= Legend (very few in the game)
Joe= talented rapper (100s and 100s of talented rappers in the game)
Basically Joe Budden is just another number in the rap game he don't stand out.
Get the fuck outta here with that "he made Jay quit" bullshit. Jay prolly got bored and he moved on. I don't blame him.
Jay steppin down is prolly a blessing in disguise, maybe Russell will come back. If Russ comes back and niggas on Def Jam still flop, they ain't got no one to blame except themselves, they can't use Jay as the scapegoat no more with a new Prez.
DaGod, you are taking these comments WAY too personally, lol. It's just a joke we know Jay is more of a businessman to be swayed to leave DefJam as a label head because of a diss record.
And actually I've known about Budden for a while now, and the real music he makes seems to not be marketable, but it is good music and that's why his mixtapes shit on most albums of that year (MM2 killed 05 period and MM3 was a good addition to a good year for hip hop). What I'm tired of is people equating skills to sales, because everyone and they moms know that's often a negative correlation (since we all know bubble gum sells better to youth than a 16 oz steak just because it's sweeter).
To DaGod Budden iz way more than just a talented rapper dont hate Jay-Z came up under Biggie a legend and Big L if u think about it Big L never had a real certified hit he's a legend but never had a crazy hit because he's 2 real Pac was real but he learned how to make ppl feel it Budden is like Big L listen 2 him just because Jay-Z is who he is dont hate on Budden and im not on his nuts i was bumpin Budden back when he put like 100 sumthing bars on Nastradomus in like 2000
JROBDAKID3, please think about what you put down before u type. I know you didn't compare Big L to Buddens. I could guarantee you that if Big L was alive he'd have numerous hits. He just didn't live long enough to accomplish that.
PS: Big L's "Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous " = Classic
Joe Budden's album is no where near classic (his first LP was average at best).
I'm not hatin on Buddens, don't get it twisted has has tremendous talent but when niggas over hype Buddens is when I have a problem. Buddens is a talented rapper nothing more nothing less.
best businessman/rapper/entrepreneur/entertainer alive
dammn 750$$, thats a ill business, big props to Jigga, who else could do it like dat??
Not on new years weekend in las vegas nicca..As far as jay steppin down I dont think he liked all the criticism from his peers thats bound to come because all customers are never happy.I think he respects alot of the dudes that now have problems wit him and he aint never been one to do harm to his image.Thats why the fat white guy do that job..u cant care
Re Up money? Damn pimpin' you ain't hustlin below poverty level. Broke ass nigga, go back to school!!! I've lost more than that at dice games, and I ain't hustled in 7 years! Don't put your weak ass business out there pimpin. Hey, there's always Job Corps!
Re-up money? i would have kept that to myself u need to get yo money up or jus stop tryin to hustle get a job cuz i wouldn't even get locked up for a lil 750 thats play money U a Broke ass ni
saw that comin
haha man aint that the truth
$750 a pair for tickets, shit dat nigga bet let u perform a song or two wit him on stage lol
was thinking same damn thang when i read it gd shit lol...deee-troit
Jay should be ashame of himself making his die hard fans pay half they paycheck shame on Jay
i saw this comin'...
some nigga just cant get no pussy so they create websites and invite a bunch of pussy niggas to it
honestly nigga did u read wat u just wrote, if da website is 4 pussy niggas why da fuck r u here? n besides u got banned like 20 times from da "pussy website" n keep coming back, so ur past being a a pussy nigga, for all da accounts u got ur a dyke by now
i wish i knew what the hell you're talking about.
nah i wuz talkin to dat nigga 1life but he got deleted along wit his comments
LMAO, shitted on 'em
LOL...... FUCK 123456789LIFE
after all these years jay is still on top. dam dude is paid. even though this last album was a little sub-par, he's still in my top 5 mc's.
its about damn time
its about time jay left that post. focus on your other business. and maybe this time the artists on def jam will get the right promotion.
What artist on Def Jam are you talking about.Shit not going to change because Hov left.Just the dead weight niggas(Meth,Red,LL, etc) will have to blame someone else for their failures.Under Jay's leadership Def Jam made a profit.That all that matters, not how many niggas cry about not getting promotion.I hope none of those bitching rapper thing shit is going to be good now.Dudes were crying about def Jam being a R&B/Pop label before, wait until L.A.Reid becomes the supreme leader of the Def Jam ship.
i guess i can blame jay-z 4 the poor g-unit sales too.jay-z cant make nobody buy records if u have a good record then ppl will support it.LL flop under the old bosses at defjam when was the last time he sold a million copies.jay-z was always the main defjam artist so niggas floppin so what.dem south niggas r laughin.no 13yr old is buy buy a ROOTS,METHOD MAN,or LL album.who r they going blame now 50 cent LOL.
G-Unit?
haha maybe niggaz will stop hatin him now... maybe it was too much pressure for him?... w.e da reason this is just allll a part of his legacy dam, i wonder wut hes gona do next
Nah Homie... they're STILL gonna hate Hov. Just from a different angle and/or perspective. Instead of hating him as "el presidente".... they're gonna say that when he was President... he fucked the money up soo much that artists will still be suffering from it 2 years from now!
It's politics... they're gonna use Hov as a scapegoat 4 a while! Buddens is gonna be pissed because now that HOV is leaving his dis records will become obsolete and pointless.
Thus again... equating to 35 total albums sold!
~Be Eazy!
LL has never lost a battle. He has been around 20 plus years. In 1997 their wernt any MCs who came with the lyrical ability of canibus but yet still cool J murdered him on wax. L is a battle rap king. I fuckin love jay-z but that GOAT shit is gonna get him done. I anticipate a fued between them the minute Jay leaves def jam. I cant pick a favorite but I cant wait till the games begin.
Most teenagers today don't care/know about the shit LL did.. So, he still flops and get disrespect. Shit, most teenager girls don't even care about that nigga.. Only the people that are like 24 maybe 25+ buy his stuff. Ain't Jay's fault that he can keep up to date, like Ghostface..
Honestly LL is a legend and a legendary battle MC. But Cannibus beat him. Only reason LL won was b/c he was "LL Cool J". Verse that ripped LL:
"No rapper could rap quite like I can
You know who the fuck I am, I'm the canibus man
I had to rock to a beat like this to show you
That I'm iller then the future, the present, and the old you
I told you, wish you could take it all back don't you
Tried to smoke some canibus but canibus smoked you
Calling yourself the greatest is something you don't do
Cause after I humiliate you what will the G.O.A.T. do
You can't rap or act my main man
You goin' end up as an intern working for Def Jam
See you was never bad enough to battle with Canibus
You out of luck, I crushed you the minute I got tatted up
And every lie you told just added up cause you wasn't man enough
To be fair, but I'm mad a fuck and I've had enough
Jack the ripper or I'ma rip the jacker
Rape a rapper with a classic from his own masters
You're dead"
Honestly Jay-Z would tear LL a new ass if they battled.
Matter fact: list of MCs that would rip LL in a battle:
-Nas
-Jay
-Em
-Beans
-Jada
That intern line came true when Jay became president. Now he's 50's underling. How sad.
For the record .... LL didnt murder Canibus on wax... He just helped "blackball" him!
Bug fuckin' difference!
~Be Eazy!
This nigga gonna address everybody on some lyrical shit. He couldn't address niggas personally as the president. thats bad biz to be crushin your own artist. so LL,Buddens and everybody else that had some bullshit to talk that wasn't bout the business is gonna feel his wrath.
yo scoop208 jus gives props wen is sumtin bout lil wayne.... dnt hate man jay is ur favorite rapper's favorite rapper.... jay's dna is in his music kid!! so give props wen is due.....
that was 1life
he needed to step down as president of def jam for he can focus only on the roc boyz he dont need to be dealin with all those fuckin rappers and singers on def jam and yea dats wats up
Jay-z heard that track Joe Budden put out on Mood Muzik and then made his decision, Joey went so hard on that nigga
ok dumb niggas- keep sleepin on LL. see if he dont have somethin to say. Dont forget who told you.
ITS NOW OFFICIAL NIGGAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVRYBODY EVEN DA LAMES
ya j, no easy money like that anymore, but i think you got enough
these rappers wanted this nigga to fall back, but i bet they still wont sell a lick and their shit still going to continue to get pushed back................i wonder who they'll blame now
not sellin? i bet they gone blame Dame now... LOL
budden is a different matter he isnt all excited because jay aint promote, this and that, he's pissed because jay wouldnt help put another album out... and when his first one was out no one foreal knew about it except people who got caught "pump it up" it just wasnt a good look for joey then.. he on his shit now, and jay knows... but im sure we'll see jay at Columbia im about 90% sure thats gunna happen if the MONEY is right..
yo whats gunna be funny soon nigga you fallin off then
thats whats funny jay-z sucks dick he never was good he no good songs fuck wit da smart, psychodrama, do or die, payroll, you want more fuck wit the ill state we the whole US army no joke to many bodies in lake michigan ill add more
my bad nigga you thought i was talkin to you i was talkin to dat fake birdman not you
ITS ABOUT TIME. LET HIPHOP LIVE
illseed can suck dick who the fuck is he to ride dick wiz tell that to bos think before u talk cuz rappers fake in all shapes and forms
illseed sucks!
oh look a FAKE Wiz 101 HAHA man that vanilla mc dude or 1life needs an IP ADRESS BAN ASAP
-1-
merry christmahannaquanzikah
every rapper sold crack right every rapper sold dope right who the fuck is in it to spit their mind and knowledge bout the fucked up US of A theres only a few but its all a joke and your part of it
AIGHT KIDS QUIET DOWN. YOU NIGGAS DIDN'T GET YOUR DAILY RATION OF MILK AND COOKIES TONITE OR SUMTHIN?
bigger than pac, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA hes not even bigger then 50
No way
no way what? hes not bigger than 50 ur crazy 50 big in new york he moves like godzilla
jay is a good businessman but he too damn greedy..he only care bout himself he should be tryin to help out his niggas more then he does..he forgot bout the niggas that have been around him since day 1
jay z aint that good nigga he use all def jam money now he leavein lol dont hoes do that
If it was Wayne it would be 500 comments hating but its Jay alot of people see him as they God, da truth is he aint that good he rap about 2 Albums using biggie lyrics, Pac had him quiet and unknown when was living, his right hand old pal said he didnt sell dope, Nas kill him on ether 50,Kanye and about 7 others out sale him, jeezy,etc. he calls his self Hova.Wow and this who people say is da best rapper alive.LOL, od Bless America.
Jay is a beast! Jay gets Money
This is in reference to JohnGotti187 & Wiz 101:
Hold up...I just got on here and read some real stupid shit. Why can't you spell correctly JohnGotti? If there's one thing I hate it's illiteracy. I don't have time for this nonsense god damn it. I got kids to feed and bitches to impregnate. All I see is threats that will never generate anything except more stupid comments from bored motherfuckers like me. I'm making myself part of the bullshit now. I've succumbed to the peer pressure of internet gangstas. Ooooh we got some naughty naughty bad boys on this website right! Santa ain't givin' you shit for Christmas JohnGotti187. Only ashes and sticks fo' that boy. Damn thats some of the realest shit I ever spoke. I'm somethin' like Winston Churchill in this game. I'm betting that only about 2 of you even know who that is. Where's my god damned milk and cookies?
Winston Churchill, former, British Prime Minister, and one of the great orator's of the twentieth century. Pimpin' you ain't there yet, but I agree with you on the Net Gangster ish. Man, I'm tired of all fake gangsters, to include internet, studio, school bus, night club, street corner, office space, church(the gangsta's for god) and shit, I don't really fuck with the real ones either. How about Real People? That's Whassup.
Why the fuck am I seeing all of these comments to WIZ when today... (12/29/07) is the first fuckin' day I even commented on this shit!???
WTF?
Please don't tell me we have im-fuckin'-posters!
Damn... get a life... any life... just not Wiz's... I don't think ya ankles are strong enough walk in these shoes homie!
~Be Eazy!
Oh yeah and to the dude way up at the top...LL fucking Cool J? Are you serious? You're going to rot from AIDS & then burn in hell for saying that.
Jigga should take some time out his day to diss buddens ol hoe ass..
jay z aint gonna do shit cuz he went down hill a long time ago buddie joe buddens beatin that ass now and jay wont do shit he a greedy nigga for spendin all the money and runin
says the guy with a ja rule avatar lol
hahahahhhhahaha
HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
LMFAO!!! Killed em
haha cant want till all these whack rappers still dont sell... and then they'll blame someone else... hovs fault that they dont sell? my ass... if these rappers were good like kayne nas jeezy ross, even rhianna mary j, they would be out moving... but there whack so they blame Jay... stop hatin on a nigger, that is a weak emotion, the lady of a nigger... we'll see where def jam goes now... considering its the hottest label out there right now... props to hov the president (i dont even liek him that much as a rapper) but stop blamign jay z cause your favorite rappers are poo and dont sell