While he’s not going to be the label’s new CEO (boss L.A. Reid reclaimed the title after Jay-Z’s departure), Shakir Stewart has been named Executive Vice President of Def Jam, which basically makes him Jay-Z’s replacement. While he can take credit for signing Ciara to LaFace (where he and Reid began their professional relationship) and signing Beyonce to a publishing contract in 1999, it’s believed that the real reason he’s being given the promotion is that he’s responsible for signing Young Jeezy and Rick Ross to the label. Admittedly, these acts are younger and arguably more successful than the fogies like Nas and the Roots that Jay-Z was responsible for, but I’m pretty damn scared what’s going to come from a label run by a guy who takes pride in turning charmless, one-dimensional self-aggrandizement into music-business gold.
“Straight Out The Rarri,” a collaboration between Jeezy and Ross, leaked late last year, and it may be the template for the future of Def Jam: It’s a bombastic, attention-grabbing track fronted by two minimally talented rappers reaffirming their eternal hardness via lyrical tropes that would have sounded dull on a No Limit album ten years ago. Whether you think Jay-Z was running an artists’ colony or a retirement home, he obviously had a desire to push hip-hop as a creative genre with a sense of history. If Stewart’s future signings fit with the ones that got him where he is, we should just be grateful if they realize “snitch” rhymes with “bitch.”
Jay-Z Replacement Confirmed, Shakir Stewart Named New EVP Of Def Jam [SOHH]
Young Jeezy feat. Rick Ross - Straight Out The Rarri [YouTube]
Rowsssss.
This guy is clearly not the biggest boss that I’ve seen thus far.
At the risk of sounding like a Jeezy apologist, I wouldn’t throw him into the same dull category as Ross.
That’s riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Ay!
Further evidence that music bloggers are at best, wannabe haters and at worst, total losers. Shakir is actually a really good guy who doesn’t try to be one of those record co. execs who’s more famous than the artist they purport to work with/for. Trust me, I’m not that much of a Rick Ross fan myself but given the fact that he’s one of the few rappers actually selling albums nowadays, dissing Shakir for having signed him seems sort of ridiculous.
So, um, is that like his yearbook photo? If so, why?
Oh, and one more thing “Ricky Rowsssssssssss.”
@cosmiclove: it seems to be his most popular publicity shot:
[images.google.com]
@Maura Johnston: The Def Jam publicity dept. needs to get on that, or have they been cut, too? Perhaps 2Pac Shakir will be able to convince Ricky Rowssss to make an appearance on Nas’s ill-fated slave CD, or table it indefinitely.