One of the things that music mogul Dame Dash is known, respected, and hated for is his willingness to say things others might be afraid to say.
In a recent sit down with “The Gauds Show”, the former Roc-A-Fella Records CEO claims it was his behind the scenes maneuvering that set the path for Jay-Z to become the hall of fame rapper that he is.
“I shopped Jay-Z to every single label,” Dash recalls. “Kevin Liles, all of them. Every single one of them and they all said no. And he becomes one of the greatest rappers alive. Those are the same people that said he was too old, rapped too fast, and dressed corny.
“I learned to listen to nobody. If I listened to them, there would be no Jay-Z,” Dash then boasts. “He wasn’t gon’ do it. There would be no rapping Jay-Z if it wasn’t for me 100,000 percent. He wasn’t gonna do what I did to make sure he got heard. He was hustling.”
Dame went on to break down some of the things he taught the Brooklyn emcee that has helped him go on to became a multi-billionaire.
“He wasn’t gonna put a record out by himself and create a record company,” he continued. “He could rap but he didn’t know business. I taught him business. How to put a record out yourself. How to leverage your celebrity and put it on a product yourself.”
Roc-A-Fella Records was founded by Dash, Jay-Z, and Kareem “Biggs” Burke in 1994 and went on to become one of the most storied hip-hop labels of 1990’s. The powerhouse record label went on to launch the careers of acts such as Kanye West, Beanie Siegel, Memphis Bleek and Freeway among others before dissolving in 2014 with Jay-Z assuming the presidency of parent label, Def Jam.
After Roc-A-Fella’s demise, Jay-Z went on to release five number one albums under his Roc Nation imprint, with Burke venturing into producing movies, and Dash currently heading up his media collective, DD172
