ll-cool-j.jpgLast month, when LL Cool J allegedly took shots at Def Jam President Jay-Z in a YouTube video, stating, “I don’t even know why you did that to yourself. When you doing that verse, you should have been doing your job, B,” many felt LL was responding to Jigga’s claim as the G.O.A.T. on 50 Cent’s “I Get Money (Remix).” Shortly after, rumors swirled on the Internet that LL was planning on releasing a diss track aimed at Def Jam Records and Jay-Z. Since then, however, cooler heads have prevailed. Jay recently told MTV News, “He’s upset, not me. If he wanna work it out, I’m more than willing to do that.” Now, LL is also backing away from a possible battle with Hov, telling MTV News, “I don’t need to go all-out,” he said. “At this point I think the focus should be to make great music, trying to keep it positive, trying to have some sort of relationship where we can work together.” Tension between both sides boiled after the disappointing sales of LL’s 2006 album, Todd Smith, which the Queens legend blamed on a lack of promotion from Def Jam. “Things are not all rosy up there,” LL tells MTV. “Too many [artists] have suffered: Method Man, Redman, the Roots, Fabolous, Ludacris. The list goes on. Nobody is getting promoted the way they should be promoted. I’m one man. I can’t battle a whole record label. So we not gonna try to turn this into what it’s not. To try and battle a record label is foolish. It’s bad enough they are calling around to radio stations telling them not to play my records.” According to 50 Cent, who is executive producing LL’s final album on Def Jam, Exit 13, he is acting as a liaison between LL and Def Jam. “[LL’s] got his own issues [with Def Jam], to be honest with you,” 50 tells MTV. “He feels that they’re not prioritizing him. He’s been there from the start. I talked to him and I talked to Jay. I’m the liaison between them for that project to keep that functioning. And I’m gonna bring the material necessary for us to have a great project…Jay’s priority is business. He’s a businessman. If it makes good business sense, he’s doing it.”

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