Jay-Z, shown performing in Pemberton, B.C., in 2008, was among a host of top acts to sign deals with Live Nation in 2008. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press) Hip hop impresario Jay-Z has officially confirmed reports that he has ended his contract with Def Jam, the record label with which he made his fame as an artist and also served as president.
The rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, called his working relationship with Def Jam executives Doug Morris and LA Reid "a unique and fulfilling experience," in comments to website RapRadar.com.
"I've been in the family for almost my entire career," he said, also thanking Morris for allowing him "to be a completely independent artist. Not every artist can say they own or are given the opportunity to own all of their music."
The award-winning rapper and entrepreneur had been slated to release one final album with Def Jam under his contract.
According to reports, the rapper bought out his contractual obligation for approximately $5 million US.
In April 2008, Jay-Z joined a wave of high-profile, international musical acts such as Madonna, Shakira, U2 and Nickelback to sign major deals with concert promotion giant Live Nation versus starting new contracts with traditional record labels.
The rapper's Live Nation deal — reportedly worth in excess of $100 million US — spans the lucrative touring business as well as music recording. The agreement also included a new joint record label imprint, called Roc Nation.
Jay-Z has been working on a new album, titled The Blueprint 3 and expected for release later this year.
Def Jam, founded in the mid-1980s by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin, launched a host of star hip hop acts. Its roster included LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Foxy Brown and Jazzy Jeff.
In December 2004, Def Jam bought Roc-A-Fella, the company Jay-Z founded in 1995, and named the rapper its new president and CEO. Under his leadership, the company signed popular artists like Rihanna and Ne-Yo.
He stepped down from the post at the end of 2007 and returned to simply being one of the artist roster, however, reportedly due to a contract dispute.
With files from The Associated Press
