LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Jay-Z: Def Jam
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Rumors of a label change have been rife in the music industry after Jay-Z was reported to be unhappy with Def Jam following the appointment of producer/performer Jermaine Dupri as the president of their urban music division in February this year. But now the rapper could have the decision made for him as his contract with Universal is due to expire at the end of this month and negotiations for a renewal have so far proved unsuccessful.
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Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z, has been the president of Def Jam since January 3rd, 2005. "Soon as we came back off of vacation I was here, ten o'clock in the morning," he says with pride. His L-shaped corner office is on the twenty-ninth floor, and he's usually there by ten or eleven, but on this particular Friday he arrives at 12:20 p.m., BlackBerry to his ear as he zips past security and up the escalator, wearing a diamond-heavy Roc-A-Fella chain; a white-and-red European-soccer-inspired polo shirt from his clothing company, Rocawear; baggy Rocawear jeans; and white S. Carters with blood-red tips, all of which make him look about ten years younger than his thirty-five years.
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Despite the mixed reviews of Vol. 3: Life and Times of Shawn Carter and his legal troubles, Jay-Z still shows no signs of retiring from rap. The album was an instant platinum success, emphasizing what a number one seller he still was in the genre he has helped to define. In 2000, Jay-Z released Dynasty: Roc la Familia. He told Vibe, "I could make records as long as I have to desire to really dig deep and challenge myself to do it. I can do it for as long as I want." It does not look like Jay-Z be running out of words any time soon.
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The publicized split between Jay-Z, Dash and Biggs led to the former partners sending jabs at each other in interviews. Dame Dash has made comments that after the break up he was portrayed as "Osama bin Laden" to ensure that rappers would stay with Jay-Z and not sign with him.[25] Dash currently operates the recently-founded Dame Dash Music Group as a joint venture with Island Def Jam producing some former Roc-A-Fella artists.
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Rap mogul Jay-Z is standing behind Def Jam colleague Kanye West in the wake of the latter's comments during Friday's telethon to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. As previously reported, West declared that "George Bush doesn't care about black people" and that America is set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible."
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Universal said Carter, a top-selling rapper who performs as Jay-Z, will continue recording for its Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam label. But the company did not give a reason for his decision to quit the executive suite.
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