With his new album “He’s Keith Murray” just hitting stores last week and the Def Jam Vendetta tour successfully ending after touring the early part of the summer, Keith Murray seemed to be in a good position with his record label, Def Jam.
Unfortunately, looks are deceiving since Def Jam has ended its deal with Keith Murray. Keith Murray claims he was let go from the label after a verbal argument with a label employee who told the label executives he felt threaten by Keith Murray. “The employee put a letter into human resources saying he couldn’t work with me and he’s scared of me and he can’t work under those circumstances,” Keith Murray told MTV. “Universal and Def Jam have been going through certain issues with Murder Inc. and with TVT Records so I guess they didn’t want no controversy at their label. They didn’t want the controversy [and] all the unpredictability of the situation getting any worse from the letter he wrote.”
Although Keith does not have a deal yet he is working on an album independently and he has no current desire to hook back up with another major label. Not yet anyway. “I’ve always had aspirations to go independent but when I came home, I needed money. I had to go get a record deal and I felt Def Jam was the best place to be. At this point in the game I’m not trying to compete with those that want fame or the glitter. I want the money. It’s all about me reaping benefits from my intellectual property. The new album is more about not worrying if the label’s gonna push it, if this person’s gonna like the record. It’s me, full fledged, it’s free. It’s mentally free. [The album] is what I feel”.
