Jay-Z speaks on rumors of leaving Def Jam

Jay-Z recently spoke upon the rumors of him bouncing from Def Jam:

It’s December now. How are you feeling about your contract at Def Jam? That’s coming up soon.
Jay-Z: You know, it’s active. We’ll see how it turns out. I mean, we’re close. So we’ll know in the next couple of weeks how it turns out.

The New York Daily News said last week that talks were stalling because you made some big demands. Is there any truth to that?
Jay-Z: No.

So from your perspective, do you think you’ll be at Def Jam next year?
Jay-Z: Yeah, I think – I don’t know. Let me not even say that. I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes. But seriously, it’s not about money. That’s really the last thing. Of course, as a person that does these type of things and puts his heart and soul into it – and it’s effective, as the Grammys would indicate – you want to be compensated for what you do. But it’s really not about money. It’s really about the future of the music business, and not wasting anyone’s time. I don’t ever want to sit in a seat just to sit in a seat. I could be off doing something else that’s beneficial to the future of the music business as well as myself. So it’s not about money! I mean, you couldn’t pay me enough. And I don’t mean that in a cocky way.

So there you have it! Jay-Z not only answers the rumors but leaves the interview with no FINAL decision on whether he plans on staying at Def Jam after his contract is up. It just might be best if he parts ways and went back to producing artists under his Rocafella brand name. It’s about time the Roc-la-familia family gets reconstructed. Those were my last memorable days of real competition in Hip Hop.