Airing out the reason why their business relationship ended, the Roc-A-Fella co-founder claims the 'Empire State of Mind' rapper purposely shook him to run the record label by himself.
- Dec 24, 2019
AceShowbiz - Jay-Z isn't a fair businessman, according to his former business partner Damon Dash. The entrepreneur, who co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records with Jay-Z and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1995, has slammed the hip-hop mogul over his attitude back when they were still running the record label together.
In a recent interview with REAL 92.3's "Big Boy's Neighborhood" show, Damon revealed that Jay-Z allegedly told music executive L.A. Reid that he wanted to run Roc-A-Fella by himself and that the 50-year-old rapper purposely shook him to achieve this goal.
"Personally, the way he did me was dirty," Damon claimed. "The way he did Biggs was dirty. The way he did Roc-A-Fella was dirty." The Harlem native added, "We was like 'damn!' [it was] out of left [field]. And when I had the conversation, he was like, 'Yo, I want to look like a boss. I can't look like a boss around you.' I thought that was dirty."
That and their differences in how they handle business eventually led to their split over a decade ago. "We have fundamental differences. I'm about making other people famous and rich and equal, that's what I wanted with Roc-A-Fella," he explained. "And he wanted to be the boss and have people work for him for 25 years straight, which is what happened. I actually feel sorry for my fallen angels, because i've taught people to share. [...] I make kings, I don't make slaves."
Saying that he actually didn't want to talk about his past relationship with Jay-Z, he couldn't help but accuse the Roc Nation founder of being unfair. He further shared, "No matter what, I feel he robbed me. Period. And no matter what, I'm always gonna feel that way. If I hit somebody with some work and they run off, I forgive it. It don't bother me, but if you asked me about that person, I'm like, 'Nah, he ran off.' "
While he's not a fan of how Jay-Z handles his business, Damon praised Kanye West in the same interview. "He is a disrupter, a world-shaker, but he's also respectful to the people that deserve it," he said of the "Follow God", who recently called a truce with his "Watch the Throne" collaborator Jay-Z. Damon added of Kanye, "He invokes emotion and he's great for the economy."
