LINK: Jay-Z Talks Grammys & Contract Negotiations

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jay-Z speaks about the 26 Grammy nominations that Def Jam garnered this year under his watch. He also addresses recent rumors that the re-negotiation of his presidential Def Jam contract had come to a standstill because he wanted an unrealistic amount of money to stay at the company. Here is an excerpt:

So I gotta ask you: It's December now. How are you feeling about your contract at Def Jam? That's coming up soon.
You know, it's active. We'll see how it turns out. I mean, we're close. So we'll know in the next couple of weeks how it turns out.

The New York Daily News said last week that talks were stalling because you made some big demands. Is there any truth to that?
No.

So from your perspective, do you think you'll be at Def Jam next year?
Yeah, I think — I don't know. Let me not even say that. I don't know. We'll see how it goes. But seriously, it's not about money. That's really the last thing. Of course, as a person that does these type of things and puts his heart and soul into it — and it's effective, as the Grammys would indicate — you want to be compensated for what you do. But it's really not about money. It's really about the future of the music business, and not wasting anyone's time. I don't ever want to sit in a seat just to sit in a seat. I could be off doing something else that's beneficial to the future of the music business as well as myself. So it's not about money! I mean, you couldn't pay me enough. And I don't mean that in a cocky way.

CLICK HERE to read EW's full interview with Jay.