Jay-Z Covers Rolling Stone Magazine, Talks Leaving Def Jam | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales

Jay-Z Covers Rolling Stone Magazine, Talks Leaving Def Jam | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales

Rapper/entrepreneur Jay-Z was featured on the cover of the most recent issue of Rolling Stone magazine, which chronicles the artist's journey from the Marcy projects to the boardroom.

The article, simply titled "King of America," the larger-than-life entertainer covered topics ranging from his longevity in the game, his previous albums, and his and wife Beyonce's taste in art.

While several of these topics have been discussed before, Jay-Z opened up about his tenure as President of Def Jam. When asked which times at the label were frustrating, he repiled, "Honestly? All of them. The culture there has been institutionalized. You had record executives who've been sitting in their office for 20 years because of one act. 'But that's the guy who signed Motley Crue!' Seriously? That was fucking 25 years ago.

"When you look at what's happening, the record business is purging itself," elaborated Hov, pointing out that Def Jam oversaturated the market. "Def Jam released 57 albums one year. Are there 57 good artists in the world, let alone on one label? If you have 57 artists and four of them break, that's bad business. What a terrible model. I told them, 'How about this idea - instead of spending $300 million to break four acts, why don't you just give me a credit line, and I'll just do things. I won't make music. I'll go buy some headphones, or buy a clothing line, just be part of the culture.' But the money scared them off, because they're not used to thinking the way."