The New York Daily News is gossiping that that Jay-Z fella is in negotiations to jump ship from his President role at Universal's Def Jam to take on a similarly grand sounding job at SonyBMG's Columbia. The Daily News' Ben Widdicombe says that Jay isn't too happy that Jermaine Dupri has been given a top urban job within the Island Def Jam family as well, it breaking the tradition that you only have one humongous ego per major label division. Widdicombe also points out the Mrs Jay Z, Beyonce Knowles, is signed to Columbia, and that the recently appointed Columbia chief Rick Rubin is keen to recruit a team of top names to this top team.
All sounds convincing, perhaps, though HitsDailyDouble says their source counters those claims, saying that Jay is actively involved in preparations for the renewal of his IDJ deal, and that IDJ supremo LA Reid is also keen to have as many superstar producer types on his team as possible. Though they also add that Jay is so damn busy with his many business ventures that his day to day input on Def Jam is negligible, so Reid might not be willing to pay any asking price.