Jay-Z News

Jay-Z will be having lots more time to spend with Beyoncé this New Year's, after it was announced Monday that he would be stepping down as president of Def Jam effective Jan. 1.

He took over the reins at the famed hip-hop factory in 2005, shortly after he announced his brief retirement from recording.

In announcing his departure, the 38-year-old hip-hop mogul said in a statement that it was time for him to "take on new challenges."

During his two-year tenure, Jay-Z has signed the likes of Rihanna and Ne-Yo and overseen blockbuster releases by himself and Kanye West, eventually realizing he didn't want to be out of the rapping game for good.

Vivendi-owned Universal Music, the parent of Def Jam, says the rapper will continue to record for the company's Roc-a-Fella label, which he cofounded in 1996, long before becoming top dog.

"While he will continue to be one of our signature artists, he will nonetheless be missed in this executive capacity," Island Def Jam Music Group chairman and CEO Andy "L.A." Reid said in a statement. Jay-Z inked a reported $10 million deal in 2004 to replace outgoing pres Lyor Cohen, who decamped to take over Warner Music Group.

The "Hard Knock Life" rapper also founded several Roc-a-Fella spinoff companies, including a film production shingle and the Rocawear fashion label, which he sold in March for $204 million.

He owns the upscale 40/40 Club sports bars (named after the elite group of baseball players who have hit 40 homeruns and stolen 40 bases) in New York and Atlantic City. A Las Vegas location is opening Sunday in the newly built extension of the Venetian Hotel, the Palazzo. A new spot in Macau is on track to open in late 2008 or early 2009.

Last month, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, saw his latest album, American Gangster, open on top of the pop charts. That gave him 10 number one albums in 10 years and tied him with Elvis Presley for the most chart toppers by a solo artist. Hova and Presley trail only the Beatles, who have 19 number one albums.

He is up for five Grammy Awards, while he helped steer Def Jam to a total of 26 nods. 

In August, Jay-Z was tapped as the top Hip-Hop Cash King by Forbes magazine, pocketing $34 million the previous year.

And although he's hanging up his key to the executive washroom for now, Jay-Z said recently that he feels good about where the music industry is headed.

"As a person who is optimistic about hip-hop, I look at albums like American Gangster and Kanye West's Graduation as albums that people can emulate, because they were made with nothing but the highest of integrity and passion about putting your all into the music," he told billboard.com last week.

"People tend to emulate success, so hopefully they'll emulate the blueprint of those albums, and we'll have some great music."