Even a casual listener to the work of one Sean Carter would know that you simply don’t mess with Hov, and yet reports have now surfaced that old master recordings made by Jay-Z worth US$15 – $20 million are at the centre of an extortion plot hatched by his former producer Chancey Mahan.
TMZ reports Mahan, who worked with the rapper from 1998 to 2009, was allegedly found in possession of Roc-A-Fella Records master recordings dating from 1998-2002 that Jay and his team had long thought lost. Mahan had reportedly kept them in a Northridge, California storage facility.
Mahan reportedly told law enforcement that he reached out to Live Nation, an affiliate of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation company, to tell them that he planned to auction the recordings or hand them over to them for a “storage fee” to the tune of US$100,000, but eventually settling on a fee of US$75,000.
When Mahan went to the Northridge storage facility on Friday, 18th April to collect the multi-million dollar Hova masters, he was met by the LAPD. Mahan was reportedly detained for questioning but not arrested. According to the producer, the LAPD were contacted by Jay-Z ahead of time.
The masters will remain in the possession of the LAPD until a judge decides rightful ownership. Sources tell TMZ that the Beverly Hills PD are investigating extortion allegations against Mahan, while Jay-Z’s team has filed a grand larceny complaint with the New York Police Department.
Mahan is known for working on the albums Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter and The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, though according to famed producer Just Blaze, Mahan was a less than productive force during the sessions, tweeting that he “ruined every tape transfer for the Dynasty Album.”
“If you listen to Bleek’s version of ‘is that your b***h‘ you’ll notice it’s in mono. Why? Bc Chauncey… We had to re record ‘streets is talking‘ vox. Why? Bc Chauncey… The Dynasty intro sample flanges the entire time.. Chauncey,” he continued, before adding, “Oh. And I have backups of just about all of those files Chauncey tried to extort for… in a fallout shelter in an undisclosed location.” Ouch.
Chauncey stayed effing up. Big part of the reason Hip and I brought in Guru.
— Just Blaze (@JustBlaze) April 21, 2014
Ill never forget the day Chaunce stepped to Duro wanting to fight lol. This guy ruined every tape transfer for the Dynasty Album.
— Just Blaze (@JustBlaze) April 21, 2014
If you listen to Bleek's version of "is that your b***h" you'll notice it's in mono. Why? Bc Chauncey. Lol.
— Just Blaze (@JustBlaze) April 21, 2014
We had to re record "streets is talking" vox. Why? Bc Chauncey.
— Just Blaze (@JustBlaze) April 21, 2014
The Dynasty intro sample flanges the entire time.. Guess why!? Chauncey.
— Just Blaze (@JustBlaze) April 21, 2014
Oh. And I have backups of just about all of those files Chauncey tried to extort for. Dummy.
— Just Blaze (@JustBlaze) April 21, 2014
Last thing @ind3lible and I did before we shut down baseline was a digital back up of EVERYTHING that was ever done there. EVERYTHING.
— Just Blaze (@JustBlaze) April 21, 2014
They reside in a fallout shelter in an undisclosed location.
— Just Blaze (@JustBlaze) April 21, 2014