Dame Dash has made yet another statement about JAY-Z, this time shedding light on his early business practices — and fired a direct shot at Fat Joe in the process.
Addressing comments recently made by Joey Crack, in which the rapper called the record executive “delusional” before challenging him to “make another one [JAY-Z],” Dash alleged his former Roc-A-Fella Records partner was a double-dipper.
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“Number one. Make another HOV? Why the fuck would I make another HOV? He was double dipping,” he began during a recent episode of his America Nu Network podcast. “We were paying him highly as an artist and he was double dipping from the company and it didn’t make me a lot of money. He did not generate $100million a year for me — I don’t want to make another HOV.
“I did make a Kanye, a Cam’ron, pause, or help. And you know, after you do that I don’t have to do anything else. But what I did do was the next year, I started another company called Rachel Roy and it generated over $100million a year. So, I didn’t make another HOV, I made another $100million company,” he continued, reaching into his bag for receipts.
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He concluded: “But, because you don’t speak that language — most people don’t — and a lot of what you know is music, if I’m doing something in another language you don’t understand, it doesn’t resonate with you.”
Watch the segment below:
Dame’s latest claim comes on the heels of his announcement that he’s taking back the reigns of the label he once called home.
During an interview on The GAUDS Show that premiered last week, the 52-year-old mogul talked about regaining control of the Hip Hop empire he helped build. He also discussed being ousted from it by the same people he kickstarted it with, namely JAY-Z and Kareem “Biggs” Burke.
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“I’m taking back Roc-A-Fella; I don’t need no paperwork,” he said. “Roc-A-Fella never dies. It’s not dead; I just fuckin’ took a vacation. I’m the CEO of Roc-A-Fella Inc. and JAY-Z knows it, and so does Biggs. Not Roc-A-Fella LLC — we sold that; Roc-A-Fella Inc. — I’m still the CEO.”
Last year, Dash was sued by his former business partners over an alleged NFT auction of Hov’s 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt. Just months later, they reached a settlement that took away his legal right to sell his portion of the record as any token.
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“They took me to court saying I tried to sell all their interests, knowing I didn’t,” he explained. “I was only trying to sell mine, but they did that to fuck my sale up […] We don’t go to court. You call me, and then you wanna lie on me? That was last year. I’m bothered about it.”
A few months ago, Dash expressed that he was open to a sit-down with JAY-Z to address their falling out, laying out the conditions that would have to exist before they engage in conversation.
During a mid-October interview on The CEO Show, he emphasized his willingness to “have a conversation” but specified that it would only happen if JAY-Z agreed to “talk about the people that didn’t make the money, and try to help.” Those people, while not named explicitly, are most likely former Roc-A-Fella artists, given the context of the conversation.
In 1994, Dame Dash, Kareem “Biggs” Burke, and JAY-Z co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records, a partnership that came to an infamous end in 2004 when The Island Def Jam Music Group acquired the label. Despite Dame taking credit for Jigga’s rise, the rap legend disagreed, addressing the notion in his track “Lost One” from the album Kingdom Come.
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“I heard muthafuckas sayin’ they made Hov/ Made Hov say, ‘Okay, so? Make another Hov!’/ N-ggas wasn’t playin’ they day role/ So we parted ways like Ben and J-Lo/ I shoulda been did it but I been in a daze though/ I put friends over business end of the day though,” he raps on the 2006 track.
Despite expressing mutual admiration for each other’s work, their relationship has experienced numerous ups and downs, with tension lingering between them.
