“I was like everybody’s manager. I guess on that respect, I might have spoiled them.”
The worst part about building an enterprise is when trouble begins to brew and a person is forced to just sit back and watch as everything they built and worked for, crumbles in front of them. The feeling is magnified when a person comes to the realization that they can’t do anything about it.
With the news of the rift between Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z, it’s sad to see where they all came in and now look at what everything has become. The legacy of Roc-A-Fella and everything that it stood for was shattered and surprising information is showing that all these alleged friendships may have just been business deals in the end.
Dame Dash has caught the blunt trauma as he has been labeled the reason behind the Dynasty falling after bringing in the Diplomats which fueled beef between Cam and Jay.
Speaking with Mixtape Monster, Dame looks back on the past and how he was willing to sign anybody that could help in keeping the empire growing.
“In Rock-N-Roll, you don’t sign an artist until they can fill up a venue and sell merch and they sell their own CDs…then they get signed. With Roc-A-Fella, I would just sign people, put them on a private jet and they’d be performing in front of the Garden. I guess you think that’s normal, but it just wasn’t.”
Who would have thought that there would come a day when the Roc was a figment in everyone’s memory.
“I’m very disappointed with where Roc-A-Fella went. The brand is compromised and I never thought that could ever happen where Roc-A-Fella is just not relevant.”
To see everything start by Dame and Jay’s hands and end the same way, one would believe that he still harbors a grudge as the money outweighed everything and caused the separation. Now looking from the outside in, he is aware of the change in perception about Jigga.
“I can’t objectively have an opinion on him. I’m hearing what people are saying and I just would have never thought that there would be a day where I would hear people are saying those things about him. I just thought he was untouchable as a rapper. To hear certain things, it’s kind of surprising.”
In regards to Dipset, Dame could only witness the Harlem group break up as his focus has been geared towards Jim Jones.
“I haven’t seen Cam in like 2, 3, 4 years. I miss him. I don’t like what’s going on with him and Jim. He’s like my little brother, all of them. I’m like 7 years older than him, so I wish I could advise him. He’s always going to be my dude. We all grew up together.”
The business is truly a test to every person’s character. Some are consumed by the fame and forget their beginnings while others are pushed out of the equation. The music industry is a leech that feeds on those that allow it to get close enough.
