For as much noise as Carmelo Anthony has made in the sports world this week, Rick Ross and his Maybach Music Group imprint may be the Hip-Hop equivalent. What many may not know,  is the back story behind the deal and what it means for Def Jam. There was a reason Rozay announced the title of his next album (God Forgives, I Don’t) long before even announcing a release date. He knew Chris Lighty was making a run to become the head of Def Jam. At the very same time, he (Ross) was re-negotiating his deal with LA Reid.

In the middle of those talks, there was a freeze put on all signings and re-negotiations which basically killed MMG’s talks with Reid and thus his time at Def Jam. Fast forward a few weeks and Ross/MMG took their talents to Warner. New MMG member Pill, signing seemingly came from left field, but it actually was a decision made more often than you’d think in the industry. Pill was already signed with Warner, but the label was unsure how to market him. With Ross being one of the biggest names in rap at the moment (and the new prize signing at Warner), the label heads decided to put him with MMG in hopes to kick start his career. It’s the same thing Atlantic did with B.o.B. when they sent him to Grand Hustle. And we all know how that played out for Bobby Ray.

As far as Def Jam is concerned, Chris Lighty is said to be a huge fan of both Young Jeezy and Kanye West. The plan is to allegedly make these two the face of the label as far as rap acts are concerned (Kanye probably already was). Both would have one to two more albums a piece with the label. In an interesting note, Def Jam is said to be moving under the Interscope/Universal Music Group umbrella once UMG restructures.