Dame Dash has revisited the dispute that fractured his and JAY-Z‘s once-successful business relationship.
In an interview with The Art of Dialogue, the Harlem rap mogul explained how he walked away from Roc-A-Fella Records after Hov began working closely with R. Kelly, who infamously married Dash’s ex-girlfriend Aaliyah when she was just 15.
“The fact that Jay was fucking with him is what used to blow my mind more than anything. I don’t know why he wanted to fuck with this guy so much. Like why? I’ve never understood it,” he said.
Dame then revealed that he confronted JAY-Z about his grievance: “Everybody knew R. Kelly married Aaliyah at 15. Everybody knew that. So was the conversation had like, ‘Yo, how you gonna go and do something with this dude?’ Hell yeah that conversation was had!
“You think I’m soft? Pause. I was like, ‘Yo, how you gonna do a project with a n-gga that raped my muthafucking girl?’ We had the conversation. Would you still fuck with a n-gga that fucked with someone that raped your girl? So why would anyone expect me to?”
He added: “There’s a lot of other shit but that alone was the nail in the coffin for me. I was outta there, I was gone. I knew that shit was gonna blow up. I wanted no parts of that shit. So I was done with him for that.”
Asked how Jay responded, Dame said: “You know how he is. He was like, ‘Yo, I ain’t have nothing to do with that.’ What I would love is for someone to ask him, ‘Why would you still do a project with that man knowing that he raped Aaliyah?’
“That right there was bridge burned […] I left Roc-A-Fella. It wasn’t that I got kicked out of Roc-A-Fella; I left Roc-A-Fella. I was done. I said, ‘Fuck all the money, fuck all this shit, I’m out.’ I was left no choice.”
The 53-year-old also claimed that JAY-Z himself was “in love” with Aaliyah and said he found it “even more disrespectful” that the rapper began working with R. Kelly on The Best of Both Worlds shortly after her death in 2001.
Dame Dash and JAY-Z’s tumultuous relationship has been back in the spotlight of late thanks to the sale of the former’s shares in Roc-A-Fella, Inc.
After a much-publicized back-and-forth, Dash’s one-third ownership stake in the company (which owns the rights to Jay’s Reasonable Doubt and is separate to Roc-A-Fella, LLC, which houses the rest of the label’s catalog) was ultimately sold for just $1 million at auction.
The auction was held to help satisfy the record executive’s extensive debts, which include $8.7 million in back taxes, an $800,000 lawsuit settlement to filmmaker Josh Webber and $145,000 in unpaid child support.
The shares were purchased by the state of New York, who are expected to flip them for a higher sum to pay off Dash’s sizeable tax debt.
Following the auction, Dame wasted little time in swiping his former business partner, saying on his America Nu Network platform: “What this really taught me was that, in the world, homie isn’t as big as he portrays.
“I thought more people would be interested in buying it […] I thought people would at least show up. No one even showed up! […] Jay didn’t even make a bid. He didn’t think it was worth $3 million. A billionaire, supposedly.”
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He added: “There’s a lot of other shit but that alone was the nail in the coffin for me. I was outta there, I was gone. I knew that shit was gonna blow up. I wanted no parts of that shit. So I was done with him for that.”
I wish Dame stop doing interviews and answering questions about Jay, it just makes it looks like he’s spiteful and hasn’t moved on.”
That’s because he’s spiteful and hasn’t moved on
Dude is full of BS. Jay started working with Kelly in 2000 and Dame ain’t leave until I think 6 years later.
Timeline is definitely off. He sound like a bitter clout chaser just taking advantage of the current hot topic.
Facts. It was actually two years before that. The joint album came out a couple of years later, but you had to work on an album for months if not years back then, unlike this microwave shit in 2024.
It’s telling that nobody in the music game has any dealings with bro…
how u gonna marry a girl u know ur homey ….. all 3 of these grandpas need to go away just stop already let these yung idiots repeat
Was done with him but continued to work closely with him for five or six more years including appearing in the Fiesta video, not to mention asking repeatedly since then why Jay-Z doesn’t fuck with him, lol. Dude a trip.
He appeared on Twista’s So Sexy Part II video too, that has R. Kelly’s featuring as well.
How the hell is a Roc-A-Fella Chain gonna be worth more than a third of Roc-A-Fella? As if you couldn’t repress Reasonable Doubt and make your money back in about fifteen minutes. Shit doesn’t make sense
So the less successful clown is bitter towards the more successful clown for going too far with r Kelly? If it was that serious, and I consider it to be, he would have walked the moment the two collaborated… it was so offensive you decided to share your frustration but not enough to immediately walk away? Suspect dame, ral suspect!
This guy is so bitch made lol
Narcissistic BS. Jay dropped the dead weight off. Not vice versa. . Haven’t heard Jay mention Dame in years. Dame name drops Jay every couple weeks. It’s his last gasp at relevancy. Ironically, he’s still riding the coattails for a check. No matter how much back stabbing and gossiping he does.
Jay-Z left this arrogant toothless clown in the dust
Only people that ate you dont realize he is lying lol aaliyah didn’t even have beef with r. Kelly her parents did.
Dame talks all this shit,but what the hell is he doing dating a 15 year old girl at his age.ehen the incident happened?
Dame talking all this shit,but what the hell is he doing “dating “ a 15 year old girl at his age.when the incident occurred,
You do know how aging works, don’t you? She was not 15 when they were together…
He said he was done after Jay z punk ass stole from him. This dude a lyin sack of horse shit➖🤯💥👈
Damn. What’s going on in the world? I’m reading these comments and realizing grown men sure like taking sides in other grown men disputi. I guess you Ru Paul’s run the world now