Jim Jones says that JAY-Z and Dame Dash's infamous Roc-A-Fella split could've been avoided. He discussed the moment in hip-hop history during an appearance on Talib Kweli’s People’s Party podcast, Friday.
“When we first got there, it was a great thing, okay? It made sense,” he said, while discussing Dipset’s tenure on Roc-A-Fella. “Everybody was on the same page […] That’s a family-oriented situation when we first got there. But we have nothing to do with what Jay and Dame got going on.”
JAY-Z & Dame Dash In NYC
He continued: “Their controversy and their separation led to a lot of the artists taking sides, which was kind of fucked up. I was never silent as a Roc-A-Fella artist, but I had to roll with what Cam was doing. It was a whole fucked up situation. And this is something that, looking back, I think could have been avoided. That shit was just some simple shit that could have been avoided, you know what I mean?”
It's not the first time Jones has discussed the infamous breakup. During an interview on DJ Self’s Apt. 5H show in March, Jones argued that the feud did damage to the state of New York hip-hop as a whole. “The confusion at the Roc-A-Fella breakup did a lot of damage for New York music,” he said. “Remember, Roc-A-Fella had so many different types of music. They had The Diplomats, they had State Property, they had Brooklyn shit. They really had a strong hold on East Coast music, so when that shit started to happen…”
Jim Jones Discusses Dipset Joining Roc-A-Fella
During its prime, Roc-A-Fella hosted iconic projects from several of the biggest artists from the 2000s including JAY-Z, Kanye West, The Diplomats, Beanie Sigel, Freeway, State Property, and more. Check out Jim Jones' full comments on the period in New York hip-hop in the interview above.
[Via]