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JAY-Z PLOTTING REAL ESTATE MOVE IN HARLEM?: Def Jam president also plugs new artist Rick Ross; picks new anthem for New Jersey Nets.
*Another week, another rumored business move for Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.
According to the New York Post, the Def Jam president was overheard “finalizing the buying of a building in Harlem” during a dinner with business mogul and former NBA star Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
A rep for Jay-Z denied that he’s planning a move into real estate, but acknowledged that the former rapper and Magic broke bread together.
Jigga tells MTV that his main focus right now is to promote Def Jam’s newest artist, Rick Ross, and his single,“Hustlin.”
"We're shooting that video right now, and that's an urgent project for us," Jay tells MTV of the Miami MC’s underground hit. "We need that one. We have a wide range of music [at Island Def Jam], everything from Fall Out Boy to the Killers to Rihanna. I just want everybody to know that we are still in the rap business."
Ross, a longtime presence in Miami’s underground circle, was signed to Island Def Jam following an intense bidding war. Jay said the rapper has been on his radar for a number of years.
"[Memphis] Bleek actually told me about him first," Jay recalled. "Bleek went down to Miami, and he told me that dude was nice. [Ross] fell off the radar for a while, then he popped back up with this record 'Hustlin'.' He had this record poppin' in Miami, and I was like, 'Oh, that's the kid!'"
Ross’ debut album “Career Criminal,” due sometime this summer, features tracks that delve into “the other side of Miami,” Jay says, adding, “Everybody is talking about the cars and the water. He's showing you the [darker] side of Miami. That's his whole approach to it."
In other Jay-Z news, Sir Paul McCartney is behind the formal announcement of his new nickname, "Sir Hova of Brooklyn." Jay says the former Beatle, who joined him on stage during the Grammys, has knighted him in a real sword ceremony just like the official ritual done by the Queen.
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