Celebrity Mound

Jay-Z may be a free agent for now, but he’s in talks to cut a deal with WMG/Atlantic that could make him one of the richest and most powerful men in music.

A well-placed industry source tells us that Jay – who recently left Def Jam as a recording artist (he served as its president from 2004-2007) – has been taking top-secret meetings with his old pals and former managers Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles. Topics of the hush-hush conversations have included giving Jay his own record label at WMG, tentatively to be called the Carter Music Group.

“Jay knows Lyor and Kevin from back when they all worked together at Def Jam, and he obviously wants to work something out with his friends,” says our insider. “He wants to get the dream team back together. There have been a few whiffs of a reunion in the past, but only now – and very privately – is something finally starting to happen.”

Our source adds, “This is big in hip hop. These are three of the most powerful men in music, who might be working together, and there’s no question the success they’ll have as a team will be huge.”

WMG Vice President Cohen and Executive Vice President Liles also attempted to convince Jay to bring his Roc Nation label – which is part of the reported $150 million deal he cut with Live Nation – to WMG. Jay, however, has chosen to release his much-anticipated 15th album, “The Blueprint 3,” with Live Nation in the fall.

“Jay’s deal with Live Nation is massive,” says another music-biz insider. “But if he were to cut a deal with WMG/Atlantic, he’d make even more headlines. Jay-Z, Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles are all brand names. They’re the industry’s heavy hitters, and the combination would bring them a lot of attention. They would be unstoppable. Jay himself is the most successful rapper-turned-businessman out there.”

Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) is a force to be reckoned with on his own. He reportedly bought himself out of his contractual obligations with Def Jam/Universal for a cool $5 million.

A rep at WMG would not comment; Jay-Z’s team didn’t return calls.

(source)

Rap superstar JAY-Z has been named in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by sports clothing company I Will Not Lose, LLC over a slogan used in the star’s 2007 Rocawear apparel advertising campaign.

I Will Not Lose, LLC CEO Reggie Tucker claims Rocawear’s marketing executives used his trademarked phrase ‘I Will Not Lose’ to promote their urbanwear range internationally without permission.

In legal papers filed in Georgia Northern District Court on September 18, Tucker further alleges that Rocawear bosses failed to respond to calls to settle the matter out of court.

Rocawear’s I Will Not Lose campaign was launched early last year and featured spokesmodels including Chris Brown and Ciara, who recited the copyrighted phrase.

The 99 Problems hitmaker, real name Shawn Carter, sold the rights to his Rocawear fashion firm to Iconix Brand Group in March 2007, but is believed to still oversee the product development, licensing, and marketing of the urbanwear.

Tucker is seeking the termination of Rocawear’s use of the slogan and is suing for an undisclosed amount of damages, according to AllHipHop.com.