Jay-Z must have been on Santa‘s “Good Boy” list this year. The Def Jam president nabbed 26 Grammy nods for the label overall and five of his own, including best rap album for Kingdom Come and song/record of the year for his featured role on Rihanna‘s “Umbrella”. But in addition to the slew of accolades the New York native is up for, Jay also has plenty of non-musical ventures poised to fatten his pockets even more in 2008, including yet another 40/40 Club opening in Las Vegas on New Years, a real estate development venture called J Hotels, and the prospect of leaving Def Jam.
Billboard.com caught up with the American Gangster scribe, who addressed the questions that have been burning on every media outlets lips:
What was your reaction to the public’s reception of American Gangster versus last year’s Kingdom Come?
American Gangster seems to be overwhelmingly a critics’ darling. I knew immediately it wouldn’t sell more than Kingdom Come. It could, but who knows? If I were a cynical person, I’d just say that people are hypocrites. [They’ll say] I want a record with no obvious singles but just great music. Well, here it is. It should sell more than 10 million copies, more than any of the other albums I’ve ever made. It’s just the way this industry works. But of course, I love the reception to American Gangster. I wasn’t completely surprised by the reception to Kingdom Come. I knew it wasn’t for everybody. I was trying to do different things sonically and with the subject matter; stretching the things you can talk about as far as being an adult. And I know that’s not popular because hip-hop is a young man’s sport.
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Where do you see Hip Hop a year from now?
As a person who is optimistic about hip-hop, I look at albums like American Gangster and Kanye West’s Graduation as albums that people can emulate because they were made with nothing but the highest of integrity and passion about putting your all into the music. People tend to emulate success, so hopefully they’ll emulate the blueprint of those albums and we’ll have some great music. I believe that if you are a musician making great music, all the smart guys will figure out the model for what’s next and how to monetize it.
So, what about the all the rumors that you’re leaving Def Jam?
The rumors are about only because my contract is up. If we can work something out that’s beneficial to all parties involved, we’ll see. But it’s not about money. It’s really about trying to invest in the future, trying to invest in maybe coming up with a new model. Because going in hard making records with artists and throwing those records into a system that’s flawed is not exciting for me. It’s not the music; people ingest music the same way. It’s just that the model of selling CDs has changed. So doing things the typical way is not in the best interests of anyone and not exciting for me. My whole thing is, how do we invest in the future? If everyone is committed to doing that, then I’m sure there’s a deal to be made.
Will there be a new Jay-Z album next year?
[Laughs heartily] If I’m inspired. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about that lately. I have one album left on my contract, and then I’ve really come full circle. This is all hypothetical but I’ve been thinking on the fly: I have one album left, right? If I’m inspired to make that album, then my contract is done and I’m not in the music business anymore as far as being an artist. I can still make music. But how I reach people with that music … I can do anything with it at that point. It’s kind of exciting in a way. I’m not in the music business, so I can drop a single every month. Who knows? The possibilities are endless — and without any pressure to sell anything. I could make whatever and do whatever with my music. Maybe the songs would just play in 40/40.
Despite rumors of a brewing beef earlier this year, Jay makes a surprising choice for top runner in the rap game: Which hip-hop artist has got next?
I don’t know. The obvious choice would be Lil Wayne. That’s on the front of everyone’s mind unless you don’t include Kanye in the equation. I think everyone would agree that Wayne is the closest.
The entire interview with Billboard.com can be read by [clicking here].
