Jay-Z may be thinking about jumping ship. The rapper's contract as president of Def Jam Records will be up soon and according to insiders he's been in negotiations to join Rick Rubin at Columbia Records, which also happens to be the recording home of Jay-Z's girlfriend Beyonce.

An insider told New York's Daily News that the move may have been prompted by the hiring of Jermaine Dupri to be the president of Island Records' urban music division in February. The source said, "There isn't room for two kings at one label. Why would Island bring in another power-hitter urban guy?"

Dupri's girlfriend, Janet Jackson, recently followed Dupri over to Island Records.

Jay-Z would be joining Rick Rubin at Columbia Records. The two have worked together in the past on the rapper's hit, "99 Problems." Rubin has been shaking up Columbia's A& R staff. An insider told the paper, "He's creating a super group of staff. So it would make sense that he would want Jay on his side."

If Jay-Z leaves Def Jam Records, he would retain full ownership of all of his masters except 1996's Reasonable Doubt.



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