A week after buying out the remainder of his Def Jam contract and declaring himself “a completely independent artist,” Jay-Z’s reportedly “95 percent” of the way toward a deal with Epic Records to distribute his Roc Nation label (created last year through his deal with Live Nation), according to Billboard. And he’s close to a deal with Warner Music Group to have his own label there, possibly to be called the Carter Music Group, reports the Daily News. According to the second report, WMG wanted to make a deal for Roc Nation, but Jay refused. We suppose there’s no law against a person having two record labels, although probably more likely is that Jay’s been in a bunch of talks since splitting from Def Jam and one of these two reports (probably the Daily News’) jumped the gun.
But let’s get to the important stuff — does any of this mean Blueprint 3 is actually happening soon? Maybe! Kanye’s giving interviews on the production process (he says Hova made him throw out all the Auto-Tune stuff), and a Jay-Z–D.J. Premier mix tape is allegedly coming next month (we hope it won’t be all recycled American Gangster verses, like first song “Can’t Cheat Death”). Both of today’s reports say B3 will be the first release from Roc Nation, and the Daily News claims it’ll be out in the fall. Stay tuned!
Jay-Z Close to Epic Records Deal [Billboard]
Jay-Z eyeing move to Warner Music Group after split from Def Jam [NYDN]
