GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post - Jay-Z Article From Rolling Stone [Nice REALLY Long Read]

Maxy · 12-02-2005, 02:32 PM

His office has great views, a large chocolate brown couch, a huge-screen TV bookended by gigantic speakers, and, next to his desk, a large monitor for his emails. There?s peach roses, white calalilies, and a purple orchid scattered around. On the wall there?s a picture of Jay sharing a laugh with Prince Charles at a swanky event in London and behind his desk a picture of Jay with a smiling Mariah Carey, an Island Def Jam artist. On the table there?s a two foot-tall three-dimensional model of architect Frank Gehry?s plan for downtown Brooklyn where the Nets will move to in 2008, with little trees and shrubs planted around the wooden buildings and acrylic skyscrapers shaped in the forms that Gehry will create. (Gehry also sent Jay a stack of James Joyce novels after explaining to Jay that Joyce was the first rapper. Gehry explained by email, ?When I listen to the tapes of his voice doing Finnegan's Wake it sounds like rap. He's very fast with the Irish accent, it's all slurred together and it's quite interesting. When I heard it I thought he was a rapper and I sent them to Jay Z because I thought he might like it.? Jay says he only reads non-fiction.) In the corner, on the floor, there?s a street sign that says, Marcy Ave., a remnant from his days growing up in the Marcy Projects. And on his desk, in the center, is the Best Rap Song Grammy he won for ?99 Problems,? the 2003 single produced by Rick Rubin from the album that announced his retirement, The Black Album. The Grammy arrived a few days ago and he decided to let it sit on his desk for a moment before bringing it home. In 1999 Jay told the Associated Press, ?I am boycotting the Grammy Awards because too many major rap artists continue to be overlooked.? Not anymore. ?I didn?t care about Grammys until we won one,? he says. This is his fourth Grammy. Beyonce has eight. He says she teases him about having so few.

Most of the day the door to Jay?s office stays open and people flow in and out as if his were the cool room in the dorm. They come in and plop down on the couch, maybe toss a football around, maybe talk to him, maybe not. Jay sits behind his desk answering emails, looking at radio airplay charts and album sales charts, listening to songs fresh from the studio brought in by his A&R men (Jay says he edits records but tends not to rewrite songs because with 70 artists to watch over he doesn?t have time), approving art for his artist?s ads, meeting with lawyers and managers, and talking to his artists. ?Ludacris calls me every so often,? he says. ?I just wanna pick your brain, man, what do you think is my next step? Redman just called the other day and said he wants me to pick the single.? Jay was nervous the first time he sat down with L.L. Cool J. L.L.?s 1985 single ?I Need A Beat? was Def Jam?s first release and he?s been on the label ever since, a major part of the Def Jam brand. ?I was a little worried about the meeting,? he said. ?I didn?t know how he was gonna take it because he?s the pillar. But he was real cool about it. He was so cool it was shocking. He was like, whatever you want to do, man. He was accepting.?

In September Jay won a five-label bidding war and signed the Roots to Def Jam. ?If the bidding war was based on money, Sony won,? Ahmir said. ?But it wasn?t about money. Jay?s offer was less than Sony?s but I really needed someone that answers phone calls. I exchanged about eight lines with Jimmy Iovine in my year and a half back at Geffen. I don?t think that?s a healthy relationship, especially if you?re dealing with a group that?s as fragile as the Roots. With Jay it?s no thing to get him on the line.?

What has Jay told the Roots? Well, he hasn?t said the group must sell truckloads of records. ?What?s scarin the sh!t out of me is that his priority with the Game Theory [the Roots? next album] is us turning in a critically-acclaimed album. When I talk about singles he frowns on that. He says, get that thought out of your head. I?ve never before been presented with a situation where the President is saying I absolutely don?t want you turning in anything you think will fit on Hot 97?s format. He knows, and the one thing that Jimmy [Iovine] didn?t know, is that there?s no fooling your audience.?

In the middle of the day Aztec, a Houston rapper Jay signed in April of ?05, rolls through the office. ?Never make a record with intention of where it?ll play,? he advises Aztec with the calm manner of a good big brother. ?That?s the worst thing you can do. Try to make a club record and it?ll sound like that. When you?re in the process you gotta do whatever you feel, not planning things for certain ends.? He seems to speak to all his artists not simply about what will sell, but what will help their artistry. ?I?m not lookin to be anybody?s boss,? he says. ?I?m just looking to help the process. If they win, I win.?

At 2:45, he rolls over to MTV to do a 3:15 segment on MTV?s TRL with Rocafella?s 17-year-old R&B singer, Teairra Mari. A moment before they go on the air, the stage manager tells him he?s going on alone for the first segment and they?ll bring Teairra out for the second segment. Jay politely, but firmly refuses. He?s not going on without Teairra beside him, not allowing a promotional opportunity for his artist turn into just more fame for him. ?I?m not here to look bigger than them,? he says later.

Jay has been generous with his fame, using his celebrity to help promote his artists, doing TV and print interviews with them, rhyming on their records, and appearing in their videos, things he was very reluctant to do back when he was Rocafella?s marquee artist. Damon Dash finds this quite humorous. Dash was once the co-CEO of Rocafella but no longer has a stake in the company. ?When he was an artist he moved at his own pace,? Dash says. ?When you?re a record company president you have to appease the artists. So seeing him do that cracks me up because I know how painful it was for him to do that sh!t for his own projects. All the things he wouldn?t do before he?s doing now. Never did press. He?s rappin on everybody?s stuff. I could never get him to rap on anybody?s sh!t at Rocafella. Never. Bein in a video? That was a rare thing.?

As Jay walks around the 29th floor he yells out little jokes to his people, making them smile and laugh, trying to make everyone comfortable to have him around. ?The employees had to get more accustomed to it than him,? a friend said. ?They?re walking into his office saying, Ohmygod that?s Jay-Z! And he?s like, Hey I?m just here to work. There?s one girl, every time she walks in the office she?s so excited.? I saw her jumping up and down like a fan as he signed a mundane form and gave it back to her. He says he doesn?t try to be liked but he?s not a leader who motivates through fear. He wants people to enjoy their jobs and have fun in the workplace. ?He feels some people work to get money and some people get money from working,? a friend said. ?He?s saying let?s not look at this as a place I go to get money. Let?s treat it like a place I go because I love it and then the money?s gonna come.?

?Managing people is really difficult,? Jay says. ?Everyone has their own personality and their own idea of how everything should go. Then you got friends that?s fuedin with each other and you have to be the peacemaker. And the more people you have the tougher it is. But I don?t have a goal to be liked. I want people to relax and just focus on what?s important, the artist. It?s fcukin music. We get paid to listen to music for a fcukin living. C?mon now. Everybody chill out, relax.?

To that end, at Def Jam Fridays are known as Bellini Fridays. Around 4pm Jay?s longtime assistant Carline Balan defrosts the bellini mix and empties a case or two of champagne, then hands out bellinis in champagne glasses to anyone who wants one. When they run out of glasses they use plastic cups. Once people have a little alcohol in them the work slows down, the music gets turned up louder, the football starts flying around the office faster, and the whole floor turns into a bit of a party, which was the whole idea behind Bellini Fridays in the first place. ?We got to celebrate every week,? Jay says. ?Celebrate the end of the week.? Def Jam brings new meaning to casual Friday.

Like any record company President, Jay spends a lot of time coming up with ways to motivate his large staff. ?I seen this Bruce Lee documentary this weekend and he was talking about be water,? he said one day. ?I?m gonna write that up and send it to people. Be water. If you pour water in a cup it takes the shape of a cup. If you pour it in a teapot it takes the shape of a teapot. Be fluid. Treat each project differently. Be water, man. The best style is no style. Because styles can be figured out. And when you have no style they can?t figure you out.?

12-02-2005, 02:32 PM
Maxy Confirmed User Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 1,858	His office has great views, a large chocolate brown couch, a huge-screen TV bookended by gigantic speakers, and, next to his desk, a large monitor for his emails. There?s peach roses, white calalilies, and a purple orchid scattered around. On the wall there?s a picture of Jay sharing a laugh with Prince Charles at a swanky event in London and behind his desk a picture of Jay with a smiling Mariah Carey, an Island Def Jam artist. On the table there?s a two foot-tall three-dimensional model of architect Frank Gehry?s plan for downtown Brooklyn where the Nets will move to in 2008, with little trees and shrubs planted around the wooden buildings and acrylic skyscrapers shaped in the forms that Gehry will create. (Gehry also sent Jay a stack of James Joyce novels after explaining to Jay that Joyce was the first rapper. Gehry explained by email, ?When I listen to the tapes of his voice doing Finnegan's Wake it sounds like rap. He's very fast with the Irish accent, it's all slurred together and it's quite interesting. When I heard it I thought he was a rapper and I sent them to Jay Z because I thought he might like it.? Jay says he only reads non-fiction.) In the corner, on the floor, there?s a street sign that says, Marcy Ave., a remnant from his days growing up in the Marcy Projects. And on his desk, in the center, is the Best Rap Song Grammy he won for ?99 Problems,? the 2003 single produced by Rick Rubin from the album that announced his retirement, The Black Album. The Grammy arrived a few days ago and he decided to let it sit on his desk for a moment before bringing it home. In 1999 Jay told the Associated Press, ?I am boycotting the Grammy Awards because too many major rap artists continue to be overlooked.? Not anymore. ?I didn?t care about Grammys until we won one,? he says. This is his fourth Grammy. Beyonce has eight. He says she teases him about having so few. Most of the day the door to Jay?s office stays open and people flow in and out as if his were the cool room in the dorm. They come in and plop down on the couch, maybe toss a football around, maybe talk to him, maybe not. Jay sits behind his desk answering emails, looking at radio airplay charts and album sales charts, listening to songs fresh from the studio brought in by his A&R men (Jay says he edits records but tends not to rewrite songs because with 70 artists to watch over he doesn?t have time), approving art for his artist?s ads, meeting with lawyers and managers, and talking to his artists. ?Ludacris calls me every so often,? he says. ?I just wanna pick your brain, man, what do you think is my next step? Redman just called the other day and said he wants me to pick the single.? Jay was nervous the first time he sat down with L.L. Cool J. L.L.?s 1985 single ?I Need A Beat? was Def Jam?s first release and he?s been on the label ever since, a major part of the Def Jam brand. ?I was a little worried about the meeting,? he said. ?I didn?t know how he was gonna take it because he?s the pillar. But he was real cool about it. He was so cool it was shocking. He was like, whatever you want to do, man. He was accepting.? In September Jay won a five-label bidding war and signed the Roots to Def Jam. ?If the bidding war was based on money, Sony won,? Ahmir said. ?But it wasn?t about money. Jay?s offer was less than Sony?s but I really needed someone that answers phone calls. I exchanged about eight lines with Jimmy Iovine in my year and a half back at Geffen. I don?t think that?s a healthy relationship, especially if you?re dealing with a group that?s as fragile as the Roots. With Jay it?s no thing to get him on the line.? What has Jay told the Roots? Well, he hasn?t said the group must sell truckloads of records. ?What?s scarin the sh!t out of me is that his priority with the Game Theory [the Roots? next album] is us turning in a critically-acclaimed album. When I talk about singles he frowns on that. He says, get that thought out of your head. I?ve never before been presented with a situation where the President is saying I absolutely don?t want you turning in anything you think will fit on Hot 97?s format. He knows, and the one thing that Jimmy [Iovine] didn?t know, is that there?s no fooling your audience.? In the middle of the day Aztec, a Houston rapper Jay signed in April of ?05, rolls through the office. ?Never make a record with intention of where it?ll play,? he advises Aztec with the calm manner of a good big brother. ?That?s the worst thing you can do. Try to make a club record and it?ll sound like that. When you?re in the process you gotta do whatever you feel, not planning things for certain ends.? He seems to speak to all his artists not simply about what will sell, but what will help their artistry. ?I?m not lookin to be anybody?s boss,? he says. ?I?m just looking to help the process. If they win, I win.? At 2:45, he rolls over to MTV to do a 3:15 segment on MTV?s TRL with Rocafella?s 17-year-old R&B singer, Teairra Mari. A moment before they go on the air, the stage manager tells him he?s going on alone for the first segment and they?ll bring Teairra out for the second segment. Jay politely, but firmly refuses. He?s not going on without Teairra beside him, not allowing a promotional opportunity for his artist turn into just more fame for him. ?I?m not here to look bigger than them,? he says later. Jay has been generous with his fame, using his celebrity to help promote his artists, doing TV and print interviews with them, rhyming on their records, and appearing in their videos, things he was very reluctant to do back when he was Rocafella?s marquee artist. Damon Dash finds this quite humorous. Dash was once the co-CEO of Rocafella but no longer has a stake in the company. ?When he was an artist he moved at his own pace,? Dash says. ?When you?re a record company president you have to appease the artists. So seeing him do that cracks me up because I know how painful it was for him to do that sh!t for his own projects. All the things he wouldn?t do before he?s doing now. Never did press. He?s rappin on everybody?s stuff. I could never get him to rap on anybody?s sh!t at Rocafella. Never. Bein in a video? That was a rare thing.? As Jay walks around the 29th floor he yells out little jokes to his people, making them smile and laugh, trying to make everyone comfortable to have him around. ?The employees had to get more accustomed to it than him,? a friend said. ?They?re walking into his office saying, Ohmygod that?s Jay-Z! And he?s like, Hey I?m just here to work. There?s one girl, every time she walks in the office she?s so excited.? I saw her jumping up and down like a fan as he signed a mundane form and gave it back to her. He says he doesn?t try to be liked but he?s not a leader who motivates through fear. He wants people to enjoy their jobs and have fun in the workplace. ?He feels some people work to get money and some people get money from working,? a friend said. ?He?s saying let?s not look at this as a place I go to get money. Let?s treat it like a place I go because I love it and then the money?s gonna come.? ?Managing people is really difficult,? Jay says. ?Everyone has their own personality and their own idea of how everything should go. Then you got friends that?s fuedin with each other and you have to be the peacemaker. And the more people you have the tougher it is. But I don?t have a goal to be liked. I want people to relax and just focus on what?s important, the artist. It?s fcukin music. We get paid to listen to music for a fcukin living. C?mon now. Everybody chill out, relax.? To that end, at Def Jam Fridays are known as Bellini Fridays. Around 4pm Jay?s longtime assistant Carline Balan defrosts the bellini mix and empties a case or two of champagne, then hands out bellinis in champagne glasses to anyone who wants one. When they run out of glasses they use plastic cups. Once people have a little alcohol in them the work slows down, the music gets turned up louder, the football starts flying around the office faster, and the whole floor turns into a bit of a party, which was the whole idea behind Bellini Fridays in the first place. ?We got to celebrate every week,? Jay says. ?Celebrate the end of the week.? Def Jam brings new meaning to casual Friday. Like any record company President, Jay spends a lot of time coming up with ways to motivate his large staff. ?I seen this Bruce Lee documentary this weekend and he was talking about be water,? he said one day. ?I?m gonna write that up and send it to people. Be water. If you pour water in a cup it takes the shape of a cup. If you pour it in a teapot it takes the shape of a teapot. Be fluid. Treat each project differently. Be water, man. The best style is no style. Because styles can be figured out. And when you have no style they can?t figure you out.? __________________ SIG TOO BIG! Maximum 120x60 button and no more than 3 text lines of DEFAULT SIZE and COLOR. Unless your sig is for a GFY top banner sponsor, you may use a 624x80 instead of a 120x60. Let me repeat... A 120 x 60 button and no more that 3 lines of DEFAULT SIZE AND COLOR text.