*Jay-Z Confirms His Departure From Def Jam*

Jay-Z confirms that he has exited from Def Jam Records. "I can honestly say, working with Doug Morris and LA Reid has been a unique and fulfilling experience and I respect them immensely," the rapper tells RapRadar.

"I've been in the family for almost my entire career," Jay-Z furthermore explains to the publication. "Doug and I spoke directly and had one of the most unique 'negotiations' ever. Doug won the toss but, we both won in the end..."

Besides, Jay-Z also thanks Doug "for allowing [him] to be a completely independent artist." The rap mogul adds, "Not every artist can say they own or are given the opportunity to own all of their music."

Prior to his announcement in RapRadar, Jay-Z, who still owed Def Jam one last album, reportedly has bought himself out of his contract with the recording company for $5 million. While his exit from the label has been confirmed, he gives no comment on his contract buyout rumor though. His representative also declines to provide any explanation regarding the speculation.

*Drake Caught On Tape Saying He Loves Rihanna; Two Caught ‘Kissing’?!*

Canadian hip hop artist Drake expresses his love for R&B singer Rihanna live on stage! One moment the rumor was that the two were dating and caught kissing at Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge in New York, then Drake later responded to the rumor and denied any romantic relationship with Rihanna claiming they were just friends, well now a videotape has appeared on the internet of rapper Drake expressing his love for Rihanna on stage in front of a live audience!

Wait a minute?!@! First, rumor has it you were caught kissing?! Later, Drake claims he and Rihanna are just friends. Now a video appears on the internet of Drake saying he loves Rihanna.

Could it just be friendly love he’s talking about??!!

In the video, Drake can be seen on stage performing “Every Girl” which is said to be off his upcoming CD Young Money Entertainment collaboration album where he is reportedly at The Sound Academy in Toronto on his So Far Gone Tour. Well, toward the end of the performance, Drake decides this was a good time to express his love for Rihanna, giving the crowd a little more entertainment to cheer to, when he spoke the words “shout out to Rihanna, I love you baby!”

Check out the video of rapper Drake performing Every Girl and expressing his love for R&B music singer Rihanna live at The Sound Academy!

*DMX - AllAzHipHop Interview*

*Charles Hamilton - Gets Punched During Battle*

*Nick Cannon Ends War of Words With Eminem*

After unleashing a lengthy blog rant about Eminem over the lyrics to “Bagpipes From Baghdad,” Nick Cannon says the mini feud with Slim Shady is officially over.
In a brief sit down with Entertainment Weekly, Cannon sticks by every word he wrote, even if the majority of fans on the Internet don’t agree.
"I felt like I said what I had to say," Cannon tells the publication. "I didn’t take [the post] down, like, Oh, somebody instructed me to do it or anything like that. It was just one of those things, like, I said it."
The composed Cannon sounds far different than the one who called out Eminem over disrespect to his wife, Mariah Carey, women in general, and black women in particular.
"I feel that my relationship with my wife is one of the best things -- or the best thing -- that’s ever happened to me, and it has nothing to do with celebrity or this industry. It’s all about, you know, just love and finding love and being happy and respecting the union that it is."
At the end of the day, perhaps the only people to consider the brief war of words a “beef” was the media and some fans.
"I never even considered it as beef. It’s not beef. It’s just, Hey, I heard the record. I said what I had to say."

*The Friday Hip Hop Report*