Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Dame Has Been Dashed....


So, it's being reported that Damon Dash, former CEO/Co-Founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, is broke and now his wife, Rachel Roy, is filing for divorce. My, how the mighty have fallen! I don't know what and where Dame went wrong but it's a sad story when you think about what he has done for Hip Hop and Harlem. Despite what you think about Dame and how he handled himself, he NEEDS and DESERVES to be credited with being responsible, even if partially, for the careers of 2 of the biggest Hip Hop artists today (Jay-Z and Kanye West). In fact, I will even go as far as saying 3 (Jim Jones)! By my observation (I could be wrong), Damon Dash had a hand in every platinum act that Roc-A-Fella has produced. Of course, there is Jigga, who is/was the cornerstone of the label and movement but let's go over the roster to highlight the others.

Now, keep in mind, outside of promoting the very first Roc-A-Fella Records single, In My Lifetime (Yes, it's true, I had a hand in Jay-Z' success lol), the information i am supplying is based on what I've seen and/or heard and it's not firsthand knowledge, in fact, it may even border on speculation, but nevertheless, this is what I've noticed.

Now, look at all the acts that Damon Dash was responsible for (Please correct me if I'm wrong), Jay-Z, DJ Clue, Kanye West and Cam'Ron, all platinum acts. Now, i may be wrong, but, outside of Jay-Z, from my understanding, all these artists were signed and co-signed by Dame. i even heard that Jay didn't even respect Kanye as an artist, he only saw him as a producer and that Damon Dash gave Kanye the freedom to become the artist that he became, which left a lot of people puzzled when The Roc split and Kanye stayed with Jay-Z. Once again, i say this for the record, that i don't know any of this as a fact, but i do know people who were close to the situation.

I do hope Dame bounces back because, despite what he displays at times, he's always been cool with me and he definitely deserves better.