Hov bought out his contract from Def Jam.

Jay-Z has officially parted ways with Def Jam. It was confirmed by MTV.com that Hip-Hop superstar Jay-Z has finally bought out the rest of his contract with Def Jam Recordings for $5 million. The rapper announced the news Thursday afternoon, with no real reasoning behind it.

We can probably suspect that Jay-Z would rather continue to pursue music under the Live Nation branch. Last Spring, Jay signed a deal with Live Nation for future albums, tours and sign new artists under his label Roc Nation for a reported $150 million.

Jay-Z released a statement about his time over at Def Jam saying, “I can honestly say, working with Doug Morris and L.A. Reid has been a unique and fulfilling experience, and I respect them immensely,” Hov told RapRadar. “I’ve been in the family for almost my entire career. Doug and I spoke directly and had one of the most unique ‘negotiations’ ever.”