For those invested in Jay-Z's career, the name Jaz-O likely rings more than a few bells. For those who don't know, 54-year-old Jaz played a pivotal role in Jay's artistic development, acting as a mentor for the young Brooklynite. In fact, you can hear them on wax together in the 1990 single "The Originator," which finds The Jigga Man taking on an uncharacteristic, yet technically proficient, old-school flow. From that point on, Jaz and Jay would go on to collaborate across the Vol... series, with their final collaboration arriving with 2002's "Let's Go."
Sadly, the relationship took a bitter turn once business and friendship converged. As the story goes, Jaz-O declined signing with Jay's recently launched Roc-A-Fella records, citing the $300,000 deal as a slight, among other grievances. From that moment onward, their relationship took a dark turn, culminating in a few heated shots on wax - including Jaz's slept-on "Ova" drop. Luckily, both men ultimately came to find common ground, culminating in a long-overdue reunion in 2017. Now, history has once again come full circle, as it is wont to do.
Today, Onsmash reported that Jay-Z had officially signed his former mentor to the Roc Nation imprint, a distribution deal that went down back in April. Unfortunately, the news eluded us when it originally dropped, but better late than never, especially where a rap nerd is concerned. As it stands, Jaz's Kingz Kounty Media Group will be represented by Hov's Roc Nation, and one has to wonder if we'll be seeing some new music from Big Jaz in the near future. Congratulations to the pair for linking up once again, and making their partnership official at long last.