Former intern 'blackmailing' Jay Z over $30m recordings
Jay Z is at the centre of an extortion plot over old recordings.
The 'Tom Ford' rapper is allegedly being blackmailed by a former intern, who has demanded $110,000 to return master recordings of tracks such as 'I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)' and 'Holla'.
The recordings are said to be worth $30m and were recorded in New York between 2002 and 2003.
The ex-intern contacted Jay's Roc Nation last week demanding payment in exchange for returning the masters, which he had kept in storage in Northridge, California.
Roc Nation sent an employee to meet the intern at the storage locker and paid the culprit $2,500 to open it. Inside, the staff member verified that the recordings belonged to their 44-year-old employer.
Police were then informed, but as the recordings were never reported missing or stolen, officers claimed they couldn't help until a police report was filed in New York.
A source told the New York Post newspaper: "The guy wanted cash and told Jay's people, 'If you don't pay up now, you will lose these recordings forever.'
"Roc Nation stalled him a day to get the police report filed in New York. They said they would come back the next day to seal the deal and filed the report in New York. Then, on Friday, the LAPD took the guy into custody, but he was released pending further investigation."
Among the recordings include never-before-heard music which could be worth $25 to $30 million if included on a future Jay Z album.
The insider claimed: "Jay owns the rights to his master recordings. Some of those in question are songs that are out, but there are others the public has never heard. An album of Jay songs is worth around $25 to $30 million, but there are also tracks that he wouldn't want out there."
