Dame Dash has shared his disappointment about the decisions rappers like Stalley and Curren$y made about their careers after he advised them to stay independent.
In a recent chat with Math Hoffa, shared by Dash’s Nu America Network, the always outspoken mogul warned off that their proximity to each other might lead to some life-changing offers coming Hoffa’s way. But he didn’t necessarily mean that to be a good thing.
“If they see you with me, they gon’ come offer you $5 million,” Dash said. “That’s what happened with Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Stalley, [Big] K.R.I.T. They were all with me first, and then they took the deal. I ain’t mad at none of ’em. A lot of ’em did it behind my back, cuz they were ashamed.
“Where you think Stalley – the most independent grumpy in the world. He’s the one that was like, ‘Yo, Imma be the most independent, da da da da da… and then he took that deal. And I was like, ‘You were just saying you were gonna be independent.’ And I remember I seen him in the airport five, six years later, [asked] was it worth it? ‘Nah.’ Curren$y broke my heart, he did that one behind my back.”
Dame Dash’s commentary was edited to include an old clip of a conversation he had with a young Wiz Khalifa, though the other rappers mentioned may have also been in the room.
The video likely dates back to Dash’s days helming his post-Roc-A-Fella media company DD172. Launched in early 2010, the imprint was his anti-establishment push into everything from visual arts to fashion and of course music.
Under its music arm BluRoc, DD172 famously entered into hazy partnerships with the likes of Mos Def, Jay Electronica and Curren$y. And while the relationship between Spitta and his fellow XXL Freshman alums is well known to fans, it might take a little digging for most to draw the connection between each of the other artists and Dame Dash.
Per HipHopWired, Stalley’s 2011 mixtape Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music) was sponsored in part by DD172. In a 2020 chat with Complex, Big K.R.I.T. recounted meeting Dame Dash for the first time while working with Creative Control and Ski Beats; but seemed to relegate the interaction to some good advice shared during just that conversation. And according to a 2022 interview with Cabbages, Dash counts a full Wiz Khalifa album among the projects he’s worked on that may never see the light of day.
The one relationship mentioned in the Harlem mogul’s recent interview which is easiest to verify also happens to be the one with a documented bad history.
In March 2012, Curren$y filed a lawsuit seeking $1.5 million in damages from Dash, claiming that the DD172/BluRoc boss released two albums without his consent. Curren$y signed with Warner Bros. in 2011 after trying to negotiate a deal with the mogul. The rapper had released two projects with Dash before signing the Warner Bros. deal.
Dash lost his lawyer in the proceedings and Curren$y filed for default judgement, which he was granted. In 2014, the rapper went back to court demanding $2.9 million in damages and an additional $95,000 in legal fees.
The case was brought to a close in October 2015 after the two reached a $3 million settlement.
Curren$y broke his heart, but he’s the one who sued you? Dude delusional as fuck. Funny thing is that there are instances where people did cultivate talents and then got them lifted by the big boys like with that whole VA crew with Timbaland and Missy that Devante Swing cultivated early in their careers before they ran off after he put his hard work into teaching them. This was not the case with these rappers. Curren$y had two major deals before they ever met; Stalley was grinding for years underground; Wiz got put on by Curren$y. Dame just was looking for a naive new revenue stream after that Jay line of make another one came out and he looked like a fool since he couldn’t.
Obviously, Dame Dash didn’t have written contracts with them. That would’ve been a nice roster.
People change their minds all the time when it comes to business interests. Shut up Dash especially if they weren’t under contract with you.