They were once in business together along with Kareem “Biggs” Burke, running one of the biggest record labels in Hip Hop, but these days, Dame Dash and Jay-Z are distant. The trio formed Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994 and it quickly established itself as a leading force in Rap culture, and soon, it was out-selling artists who had dominated the mainstream. There have been several documentaries created and think-pieces written about the unraveling of Roc-A-Fella, and Dash has never hesitated to share his thoughts on his label’s heyday.
The business mogul caught up with Tony “The Closer” Robinson to discuss his expansive entertainment career and, of course, discussed his reign with Biggs and Jay.
During the conversation, Dash was asked what was it about their situation that he regretted and if he believed they “could have had more together.”
“Yeah, all that, but we were friends,” said Dame. “How would you feel if your brother betrayed you for money? Would it hurt?… That’s the algorithm. It wasn’t surprising ’cause that’s what always happens. It was surprising ’cause no one—that’s what it was, we were breaking the algorithm, we were doing it a different way and sticking together, but that’s what always happens. They make one sell out the other, their friend, divide and conquer, that’s a normal story.”
Dash declared that he was only caught off-guard because they “never argued” and were such good friends.
“I didn’t know it was coming,” he continued. “That was some real slick sh*t. I was like, ‘That n*gga’s cold. He’s cold.'” Dash added, “Name a good n*gga that didn’t get stabbed in the back.”
Check out the clip below.