"Jay-Z is the reason I signed to RocNation. It's very hard to say no to the opportunity when Jay-Z is involved." That's J Cole, talking optimistically about his status as the first signing to Jay-Z's RocNation label venture with concert giant LiveNation. But with Cole's debut album now pushed back again until September, the North Carolina-based rapper might be wondering if he's the latest victim of the curse of Jigga's A&R skills.
Despite Jay-Z being one of about three rappers who can still sell records and fill up stadiums himself, his record of spotting and nurturing talent is calamitous. In 1997, with the buzz of Reasonable Doubt building, Jay was part of the brain trust that decided that what Roc-A-Fella records really needed was Cristion, an R&B duo whose name was a pun on a brand of champagne and whose Ghetto Cyrano album probably isn't due for the revisionist treatment any time soon. Then came the traditional rap reflex of giving deals to your thug pals. But Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek (who still holds down an honorary role as Jay's on-stage hype man, often dressed in a tux) gave Roc-A-Fella careers of diminishing results -- and in Beanie's case, a public falling out.