Jay-Z Partnering With Apple? Spokeswoman: "He's Considering Several Different Options"

Now that Jay-Z has left his CEO role at Def Jam, tech heads are whispering that Shawn Carter and Apple computer are on the verge of forming a new record label. According to the Boy Genius Report, who originally broke the story, Jay-Z would "develop and attract" urban artists, a similar job he held at Def Jam, while promoting the acts on radio and in the media and giving iTunes some street cred. A spokeswoman for Island Def Jam would neither confirm or deny the report, but said that Jay-Z is "considering several different options." Seeing as Jigga is currently under contract for two more albums with Def Jam, it might be some time before he actually joins the supposed label as an artist, unless he has two American Gangster sequels ready to roll. If it happens, the Jay-Z/Apple collabo would mark the computer giant's true entry into the traditional music business, and could be revealed at Apple's annual MacWorld Expo on January 14-18 in San Francisco.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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