TMZ reports that a collection of Jay Z’s master recordings that had gone missing in 2002 was found in a California storage unit amid an alleged extortion plot.
Chauncey Mahan, a producer who worked for Jay Z from 1998-2002, was questioned by police Friday after being found in possession of the records, which are valued between $15 million to $20 million. He wasn’t charged.
TMZ reports that Mahan reached out to Live Nation, Jay Z’s joint venture with his label, Roc-A-Fella records, and said he’d auction the recordings or fork them over for a $100,000 “storage” fee. They settled on $75,000, and agreed to rendezvous at a storage facility in Northridge, Calif., Friday, but cops, apparently tipped off by Jay Z’s camp, swooped in.
The LAPD confiscated the tapes, and a judge will determine ownership, the website reported, noting a grand larceny complaint was filed with NYPD, presumably because the recordings went missing from New York.
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