Dame Dash has attempted to explain his appearance in JAY-Z and R. Kelly’s video for “Fiesta” — which he did after Aaliyah‘s 1994 underage marriage to the now-imprisoned singer.
Speaking on his America Nu Network, Dame admitted: “I didn’t want any part of it, and I told them I don’t want a dollar from it.”
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He also claimed that he spoke with Aaliyah ahead of the video shoot and that she had conditions for his appearance.
Dame said: “Her exact words to me were, ‘I don’t want to start any trouble. I just want to heal and get as far away from it as possible’. She asked me not to be in any scenes with [R. Kelly] or take any pictures with him, and I respected that.”
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The Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder explained the dynamic when it came to being on set: “I stayed in the trailer when they shot scenes with R. Kelly. I did my shots with Jay, but I wasn’t in any scenes with R. Kelly and you’ll never see me in a picture with him.”
Dame Dash reveals why he still appeared in Jay-Z and R. Kelly’s music video “Fiesta” after Aaliyah told him that R. Kelly r*ped her.
(🎥America Nu Network/Youtube) pic.twitter.com/CmFXYAiCe4
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) October 17, 2024
Kelly was reportedly having sex with Aaliyah when she was underage. The two were briefly secretly married in 1994 when she was 15 — Kelly allegedly bribed a government employee in order for her to obtain a fake ID for that purpose.
Dash dated Aaliyah at the time of her death in a plane crash in 2001 and has previously spoken out about Kelly.
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Speaking about Kelly last year, Dame said: “I think he’s where he belongs. I know Aaliyah, so I know what he did. I can’t be objective about that, you know what I’m saying? But he definitely seemed like he needed some help.”
He also said he had issues with JAY-Z over him deciding to collaborate and tour with Kelly.
“I couldn’t believe he did a project with R. Kelly knowing that he had raped my girl,” he said about one of the reasons he had a falling out with Hov.
He continued: “I was like, ‘Just don’t put my name on that, I don’t want no money from that. If it is, put it to Aaliyah foundation’ … like they did this shit twice.”
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Kelly is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence for child sex crimes and other offenses including racketeering and sex trafficking.
