Damon Dash knows how to craft a headline, and as of late, his comments regarding JAY-Z are often at the center of his controversial takes. His latest Q&A is no different, as the Roc-A-Fella co-founder compared his former business partner to an infamous movie antagonist.
Dame spoke with The Art Of Dialogue about how the 4:44 artist stifled his business moves and potential revenue. He began by claiming he does not care about the Brooklyn rapper unless he is interfering in his ventures, which people may or may not believe. “Unless he’s [messing] my money up, I don’t give a f**k what Jay’s doing,” Dash said. “But when he’s [messing] with my money, that’s when I be like, ‘You know what? Enough is enough.’”
Dash continued, specifically referencing how Hov distanced himself from Rocawear, the popular 2000s clothing brand they founded together, in 2005. This move caused a major deal to fall through. “Right before Tommy Hilfiger signs the papers, [JAY-Z] makes an announcement saying he’s not with Rocawear, that he’s only [messing] with S. Carter,” the executive explained. “F**ked the whole [deal] up and I just feel like he did that only because I was gonna make $40 million.”
Dash went on to sell his stake in Rocawear and walk away with $22.5 million; JAY-Z, on the other hand, sold the clothing brand to Iconix Brand Group in 2007 for $204 million. Dash believed this was no accident, especially since, according to him, it happened multiple times afterward. “Every time I could have made a really big check, he’s always stepped in and intentionally f**ked it up,” he stated. “Every time.”
This caused the 53-year-old entrepreneur to suggest a villainous parallel for the Roc Nation leader. “If you could compare him to a character now, I’d say he’s like the Penguin,” Dash said, likening Hov to one of Batman’s most well-known enemies. The Penguin was also a hot topic in 2024 after a miniseries based on the character debuted on Max. “He’s ruthless like that,” Dame added.
The filmmaker also expressed his frustration with the idea that he is always talking about JAY-Z unprovoked. “They make it like I just volunteered to start talking about [JAY-Z], but people are really asking me questions about him,” he asserted. “If everybody doesn’t want to hear me talk about JAY, why the f**k do people keep asking me questions about him?”
JAY-Z and Dash’s “feud” has been active for over 20 years, and even Steve Stoute spoke about it on Club Shay Shay.
“Dame wouldn’t change,” he told Shannon Sharpe back in March. “The way he spoke to people, the way he treated people. He was angry. He was angry because he had a strong perspective about his business philosophy […] People were becoming less beholden to him.”
Later on in his explanation, he pointed out why the 24-time Grammy winner ultimately distanced himself from Dash. “Jay seen Dame’s ceiling,” he said. “He wanted more. And everybody wanted more. Dame just had a very particular way of approaching it. He’s far from stupid. Very very very smart. Very talented. Ego through the roof. Through the roof! So, there was no working with him. No one wanted to work with him. As much talent as he has, nobody [wants] to work with him.”
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