Jay-Z might be hip-hop’s first billionaire, although Dame Dash is doubling down on the notion that it wouldn’t have happened without his help. As you know, Jay and Dame Dash’s history goes way back and the latter undoubtedly played a major role in shaping the former’s early career. When no label wanted to sign Jay, Dash helped establish the empire that we now know as Roc-A-Fella and the rest is history. Although Jay became a billionaire after Roc-A-Fella's split, you can’t erase Dame Dash from history.
On his appearance on The Gauds Show, Dash detailed all of the steps he had to take to even get Jay-Z heard in the first place. “I shopped Jay-Z to every single label,” he said. “Kevin Liles, all of them. Every single one of them and they all said no. And he becomes one of the greatest rappers alive. Those are the same people that said he was too old, rapped too fast, and dressed corny.” Ultimately, Dash’s persistence and drive helped create history in hip-hop.
Dame Dash Speaks On Jay-Z’s Success
Dash explained that through this experience, he learned to trust his gut. Since many of these executives couldn’t see Jay-Z’s potential, he, Dame, and Biggs Burke went out to create their label. Ultimately, it defined an era in music and became a playbook for independence in hip-hop. “If I listened to them, there would be no Jay-Z. He wasn’t gon’ do it,” Dame said. “There would be no rapping Jay-Z if it wasn’t for me 100,000 percent. He wasn’t gonna do what I did to make sure he got heard. He was hustling.”
While Dame can’t necessarily take credit for Jay-Z’s bars, he made it clear that his business acumen helped them break down the doors. “He wasn’t gonna put a record out by himself and create a record company,” he added. “He could rap but he didn’t know business. I taught him business. How to put a record out yourself. How to leverage your celebrity and put it on a product yourself.” Check out the clip above.