Music executive Damon “Dame” Dash isn’t staying silent in an overnight NFT war against ex-business partner JAY-Z and Roc-A-Fella. The Harlem native has come forward to clear his name after getting dragged for allegedly trying to sell Young Hov’s Reasonable Doubt album without permission. Dame Dash Exposes Truth In NFT War According to Dame, JAY […]
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At the end of last week, the music world was surprised with the news that Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records, which was launched with co-founders Dame Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke, filed a lawsuit against Dash. It accused him of attempted to sell Jay-Z’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt as an NFT, something the record label said he did not have the right to do. Well, it turns out that selling a Reasonable Doubt NFT was not in Dash’s plans. His actual intentions were to sell his entire one-third stake in Roc-A-Fella, which is something he clarified to TMZ.
Dash spoke to the publication in response to the accusations stated in the lawsuit. He claims that Jay-Z tried to buy his entire Roc-A-Fella stake as recently as March, but it was at “a price I deemed unacceptable.” This forced Dash to find a more suitable buyer on his own.
He added, “Under the terms of the deal with a potential buyer, the buyer would buy my share of Roc a Fella Records and Jay-Z will have exclusive administration rights.” Dash also said that the lawsuit filed against him by Roc-A-Fella, who is represented by high-profile lawyer Alex Spiro, was simply a scare tactic to stop him from selling something he believes he has the right to sell.
Court documents from the previously-filled lawsuit said, “Dash can’t sell what he doesn’t own. By attempting such a sale, Dash has converted a corporate asset and has breached his fiduciary duties.” It added, “The court should stop Dash….and hold him accountable for his brazen theft.”
More than 25 years ago, Jay-Z, Dame Dash, and Kareem “Biggs” Burke came together to form Roc-A-Fella Records. The label would eventually become the home of Jay-Z’s first album, Reasonable Doubt, which was released in 1995. The project is heralded as a hip-hop classic and one of the best efforts in Jay’s discography. Fast-forward to the present and Reasonable Doubt is now at the center of a lawsuit between Roc-A-Fella records and Dash.
According to TMZ and Page Six, Dash was sued by the company after he attempted to auction Reasonable Doubt as an NFT. Roc-A-Fella claims that Dash is unable to mint the album to sell because he does not own the rights. According to court documents filed by high-profile attorney Alex Spiro, Dash planned to sell the Reasonable Doubt NFT at a now-canceled auction and Roc-A-Fella’s current fear is that he will try to sell it again elsewhere.
“The sale of this irreplaceable asset must be stopped before it is too late, and Dash must be held accountable for his theft,” the court documents read. “Dash can’t sell what he doesn’t own. By attempting such a sale, Dash has converted a corporate asset and has breached his fiduciary duties. The court should stop Dash….and hold him accountable for his brazen theft.”
The lawsuit comes shortly after Jay-Z sued photographer Jonathan Mannion, who shot the cover for Reasonable Doubt, for using his name and image without consent.
Music executive Damon “Dame” Dash has a pretty big problem on his head with the label he co-founded with JAY-Z. New reports claim Roc-A-Fella Records has sued the hip-hop mogul in an effort to stop the sale of an NFT connected to an iconic Young Hov project. Roc-A-Fella Has 99 Problems W/ Dame According to […]
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TMZ reports that Jay-Z is suing photographer Jonathan Mannion Photography LLC for using Jay-Z’s name and image without his consent. Mannion, who shot the cover photo for Jay-Z’s 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt, has been using the photos to generate “thousands of dollars” selling prints and merchandise for years, and Jays that when he requested an end to this practice, Mannion demanded “tens of millions of dollars.”
Jay’s lawsuit points out that while Mannion was hired to shoot the cover and had hundreds of leftover, unused images, he was compensated for the photo sessions and Jay-Z maintains the rights to how his likeness is used. Mannion was never given permission to sell or otherwise use the photos from the Reasonable Doubt sessions, with Jay calling it “ironic that a photographer would treat the image of a formerly-unknown Black teenager, now wildly successful, as a piece of property to be squeezed for every dollar it can produce.” The lawsuit demands Mannion pay Jay any profits he’s made from the sale of the prints and merch using his image.
Speaking of profit from Jay-Z’s image, it was only March that a signed Topps trading card bearing it was sold for a record-breaking sum, raking in $105,780 at auction. If that’s what a mass-produced flick of Jay-Z goes for, it’s no wonder Mannion wanted a piece of the action — and why Jay, the ultimate businessman, wanted that piece back.
Jay-Z’s Made In America Festival is returning in September after taking a year off due to the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting shutdown of live entertainment, and today, the festival’s organizers revealed the rap-heavy lineup, headlined by Justin Bieber and 2020 MVP, Lil Baby.
Further down the lineup are Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, Bobby Shmurda, Baby Keem, Lil Durk, ASAP Ferg, Moneybagg Yo, Freddie Gibbs, Tinashe, Morray, 42 Dugg, and EST Gee, as well as the ever-enticing “and more.” Of note is the fact that nearly all the names listed are in the midst of huge career years marked by either breakouts as in the case of 42 Dugg, EST Gee, Baby Keem, and Morray, or resurgences, which came about for the recently-released-from-prison Bobby Shmurda, Freddie Gibbs, and Tinashe.
Then, of course, there are the huge favorites, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, and Roddy Ricch, who all had dominating performances throughout the year — each of them had at least one single go No. 1.
Made In America is celebrating its 10th year, and returns to Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, PA Saturday, September 4, and Sunday, September 5, with a portion of proceeds going to ACLU of Pennsylvania and The REFORM Alliance. You can find more information here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
On Friday we got Migos’ Culture III, the Atlanta rap trio’s first album together in more than three years. During that time, the group released solo albums, and now the gang is back together. Based on early reactions on social media, it appears that the listeners are enjoying the new project. One fan was Jay-Z, who texted Quavo to show love to Migos for a specific song from the album.
According to a text message conversation that was shared by Quavo on social media, Jay-Z showed some love for “Avalanche,” the lead track. “That Avalanche song is beautiful,” the screenshot reads. “Congrats to you and the guys on the album. Peace God!” Quavo replied, “Thanks [prayer hands emoji] OG. We Put Everything We Had Into This one.”
Migos performed “Avalanche” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon just a day before Culture III arrived. As for the project as a whole, it arrived with 19 songs and features from Drake, Cardi B, DaBaby, Justin Bieber, Polo G, Future, and more.
You can view the text message conversation between Jay-Z and Quavo above.
Culture III is out now via Quality Control/Motown. Get it here.
Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
