Victor Cruz is one of the biggest stars signed to Jay Z‘s Roc Nation Sports, but that partnership almost didn’t happen thanks to a miscommunication.
“Before I had a conversation with Jay about the sports thing, we had legitimate lightweight beef,” the New York Giants wide receiver said on Hot 97’s “The Angie Martinez Show.”
“He threw a party at [his] 40/40 [club] after we won the Super Bowl,” Cruz explained, referencing the Big Blue’s 2011 championship. “I had no clue about it. I guess somebody from the Roc camp reached out to somebody that I was or was not working with at the time. They called him or her and was like, ‘Yo, we’re trying to get Victor [to] this party.’ And they was like, ‘Nah, Vic’s not showing up unless he gets $30K.’ “
But Cruz said he was cut out of that conversation, and suggested he wouldn’t have charged any appearance fee had he been in the loop. In fact, he didn’t even know that he had slighted the rap titan until they were in the same room and he caught some weird vibes.
“I saw Jay and [Def Jam Executive Vice President Shawn ‘Pecas’ Costner] at a game, and I ended up bum-rushing this back room that they were all in at halftime, and nobody said a word to me,” the NFL player recalled. “And I’m in there like, ‘I’ll just go to the back.’ I had no idea why [they didn’t talk to me].”
Eventually, Cruz spoke to the president of black music at Atlantic Records, Michael Kyser, who clued him in and brokered a meeting with the rap mogul.
“I went to the [40/40] to watch Floyd Mayweather [fight],” the NFL All-Pro said. “After the fight, I kind of went up to [Jay] and apologized to him for what happened and my people and having that mix-up or whatever it was; I had no clue about it. He was cool. He was like, ‘I respect that.’ We were cool from then on.”
More than cool, actually. Cruz ended up signing with Roc Nation Sports in April 2013. And now?
“He’s #3 on speed dial,” Cruz said of Jay. “He does pick up. I haven’t called often, but he returns text messages, too, which is good.”
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