American Gangster = American Garbage?

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The New York Post's Page Six is already trying to write off Jay Z's new album "American Gangster," which was released Tuesday as a companion to the new Denzel Washington film of the same name.

Page Six quotes an industry insider as saying: "He is scrambling - the first single, 'Blue Magic,' isn't being played on radio. It's the first time in his career he's not doing well."

As previously reported, Jay-Z will perform the album live on VH1's "Storytellers" Thursday and he also launched a five-city American Gangster Live tour yesterday in Los Angeles.

Def Jam paid half-a-million dollars to pay for the album's first video, added the source. However, Jay-Z's rep, Jana Fleishman, says Jigga's flurry of promotional activity is not some kind of desperate move by the label to get blood from a stone.

"It's not true at all. It's a conceptual album, so we're not focusing on one single. He was inspired by the movie. And we tour to support every release," she told the column.

Jay-Z's American Gangster Live tour is scheduled to stop in Chicago tonight at the House of Blues.

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