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
8 Responses
Sir no one said you didn’t help get him on, but the funny thing is after ya’ll fell out, he had no problem growing while all you do it complain about him every time you talk.
Sis let it go. You are not privy to everything. Some of these ill-informed commments really need to be banned. You talking about a timeframe of 1994-2014, a twenty year gap. Im sure there are people you thought was friends found they way out your life for whar ever reason. They didnt and shouldn’t stopped anyones growth if they are really dedicated at it. The only difference in this case is you have two individuals who happen to come together with two sets of skills. One definitely became the face while the other was behind the scene. By the time they split, Jay already cemented his career in rap. So if people are going to take a side with one partner in business it will be the cash cow, the person who has the most cache to gain from. Not to mention, Dame was ruthless in his business approach so that didnt help him and cause mofo to want to do even more business wit him over Jay. In all it dont take away from what that man did in the music industry or for Jay career. I just hope that they lay egos aside and big it up before its to late because what they made together cant be denied.
Jay is a trafficker too. Molested young women like Kelly And Diddy. Birds of feathers flock together
Jay moved on…yes. But so did Dame and Biggs. They got other ventures out here now. But in these platforms people be asking Dame all these questions about Jay and rockafella label and Dame gets mad. People are not letting this conversation go. That’s why Dame said …why you people never ask Jay these questions but always keep asking me ? Ask him.
You are 100% correct
Apparently, you were a good teacher and he was a good student. He applied what he learned about business to become the successful JayZ of today.
Dame needs to just leave Jay Z in the past and create another. OR, better yet, make Himself a version of Jay Z, by matching his success, if not surpassing it. Take all lf the knowledge imparted on someone else and apply it to yourself. Become that of which you helped create, if only.to silence your haters. Anything is better than keeping that clown’s name in your mouth. *pause*
Dame should be a multi billionaire with all the wisdom he taught Jay-Z but he created a monster and he turned on him and left