Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash has addressed the upcoming public auction that will see him part with his shares in the iconic record label and he claims JAY-Z has been playing dirty.
“I just want to sell it and fund my other businesses with it,” Dash said.
This auction stems from a legal obligation to settle an outstanding debt of $832,000 owed to film producer Josh Webber and Muddy Waters Pictures.
The origin of this acrimonious dispute traces back to 2016 when Dash was relieved of his duties as the director of Webber’s crime thriller, “Dear Frank,” amid allegations of unprofessional behavior, which Dash vehemently disputed.
Despite being adjudged to compensate Webber as directed by the court in 2022, Dash has failed to meet these financial obligations, prompting a legal push to liquidate his share in Roc-A-Fella Records to satisfy the debt.
Amidst these proceedings, Roc-A-Fella’s remaining co-founders, JAY-Z and Kareem “Biggs” Burke, objected, claiming the company bylaws prevented the sale of shares without board consent.
Damon Dash claimed that JAY-Z was simply trying to prevent him from getting out of the company, which still owned the rights to the rapper’s classic debut album, Reasonable Doubt.
Dash had previously tried to auction off his shares and sell them as an NFT, but JAY-Z blocked the move.
In his latest interview, Damon Dash accused JAY-Z of assuming the role of CEO of Roc-A-Fella without proper authority and using the company’s resources against him.
“Jay pretended to be the CEO of Roc-A-Fella, hired his lawyers on Roc-A-Fella Inc.’s behalf. They illegally tried to change bylaws… Jay’s using my money to pay his lawyers to sue me about something I did not do.”
JAY-Z and Burke were overruled by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger, asserting that such bylaws do not supersede the legal obligation to satisfy the court’s judgment.
“Finally, the judge was like, ‘Yo, he could sell his interest. Those bylaws that you put in 2021 are not applicable. You can’t tell that man he can’t sell his private property,'” Dash shared, summarizing the judgment. “So now I get to take it to auction like I originally wanted to. Now it’s like I got an order of protection against Jay and Biggs from trying to put a lawsuit on me.'”
Looking toward the future, Dash desires to move on from this legal feud and focus on his other ventures.
“Jay and them can’t stop it. And that was the whole purpose of making sure that it could go to auction publicly,” he stated, indicating his intention to use the capital to fuel his ongoing entrepreneurial projects.
With the looming sale of Dash’s shares, the future of Roc-A-Fella Records hangs in balance as it potentially reconfigures the foundational partnership that catapulted the label to significant heights in the music industry during the late 90s and early 2000s.
According to recent reports, two unidentified rappers have already placed a huge bid on Damon’s shares in the company.