Damon Dash has reignited his longstanding grievances against JAY-Z, calling out the Hip-Hop mogul for what he claims has been a years-long pattern of interference in his business moves.
Speaking during an interview on The Art of Dialogue, Dash didn’t hold back in describing what he perceives as calculated efforts by his former Roc-A-Fella Records partner to derail his financial success.
“Unless he’s [messing] my money up, I don’t give a [expletive] what JAY’s doing,” Dash said. “But when he’s [messing] with my money, that’s when I be like, ‘You know what? Enough is enough.’”
Dash cited specific incidents, including a 2005 business deal tied to Rocawear, the fashion label he co-founded with JAY-Z.
According to Dash, a $400 million agreement with Tommy Hilfiger fell apart after JAY-Z publicly promoted his S. Carter brand and distanced himself from Rocawear.
“Right before Tommy Hilfiger signs the papers, [JAY-Z] makes an announcement saying he’s not with Rocawear, that he’s only [messing] with S. Carter,” Dash explained. “F##### the whole [deal] up and I just feel like he did that only because I was gonna make $40 million.”
While JAY-Z later sold Rocawear to Iconix Brand Group in 2007 for $204 million—the brand was generating over $700 million in annual retail sales at the time—Dash had already walked away with $22.5 million after selling his stake back to his business partners in 2005.
Despite this payout, Dash alleged that JAY-Z has repeatedly disrupted his ventures.
“Every time I could have made a really big check, he’s always stepped in and intentionally f##### it up,” he remarked. “Everytime.”
When describing JAY-Z’s behavior, Dash offered a dramatic comparison to a Batman villain, saying, “If you could compare him to a character now, I’d say he’s like the Penguin. He’s ruthless like that…”
Damon Dash also pushed back against the perception that he volunteers commentary about JAY-Z, blaming media narratives for placing him in discussions about their fractured relationship.
“They make it like I just volunteered to start talking about [JAY-Z], but people are really asking me questions about him,” he said. “If everybody doesn’t want to hear me talk about JAY, why the [expletive] do people keep asking me questions about him?”
Despite his frustration, Dash maintained that he’s moved on from what he referred to as “the block” but said JAY-Z’s alleged attempts at sabotage have left a lasting mark.
As he put it, “I already walked away from the block. Leave me the [expletive] alone.”
