How Damon Dash Launched Jay-Z And Roc-A-Fella Records Then Blew Through A $50 Million Fortune (1375 hits)

In the late 90s and early 2000s, hip hop entrepreneur Damon Dash was on top of the world. At the time, Dash was the CEO of the hottest rap label in music, Roc-A-Fella Records, with powerhouse roster artists like Jay-Z, Kanye West, Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel, DJ Clue and Juelz Santana. Dash was also the CEO of the wildly successful Rocawear clothing line which was reportedly generating annual revenues of $350 – $450 million. As if this wasn't enough, Dash was testing the waters in Hollywood by executive producing the critically acclaimed 2004 Kevin Bacon film "The Woodsman".

Perhaps most importantly, without Dash, the world would likely never have heard the name Jay-Z at all. With the above resume, you'd have to assume that today Damon Dash must be worth hundreds of millions of dollars and is presiding over a dynasty that rivals Russell Simmons, Diddy or Dr. Dre, right? Unfortunately that is not the case. Today Damon Dash is not only broke, but he owes millions of dollars to the IRS and has had several properties seized through foreclosure. How did this happen? The story of how Damon Dash launched Jay-Z's career and Roc-A-Fella Records then blew through a $50 million fortune is a sad and shocking cautionary tale.Dash Meets Jay-Z

After getting expelled from three different high schools, Damon Dash fell into a bad crowd and began selling drugs. Dealing earned him plenty of cash but it came with a price. Damon quit the drug game after seeing too many friends end up dead. Thankfully, Damon quickly discovered that he was a born promoter. He and a group of friends launched a mini business throwing parties and promoting clubs. One night, he announced that the first 100 girls in line at a club opening would get free bottles of Moet Chandon champagne. A line around the block formed hours before the doors even opened, and while Damon actually lost money on the promotion, he solidified his reputation as the hottest promoter in New York. Soon Damon decided he could be just as successful promoting musical acts as he was clubs. Through his cousin's step father, Damon landed his first management client, a rap group called Future Sound. Not long after, Dash had arranged for Future Sound to sign a deal with Atlantic Records under an executive named Rodolfo Franklin.

In addition to being a record executive, Franklin moonlighted as a DJ under the name "DJ Clark Kent". It was Rodolfo who, in 1994, first alerted Dash to an ambitious former drug dealer from Brooklyn who was looking to launch a rap career. That rapper's name was Sean Carter, soon to be known as Jay-Z. Jay-Z was unlike anyone else in rap at the time. He was the fastest rapper Damon had ever heard and he didn't write anything down, instead reciting every rhyme straight from memory. Furthermore, like most popular artists of the day like DMX, Snoop Dogg, Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac, Jay-Z didn't rap about murder and crime. Jay-Z's lyrics tended to focus mainly on living a lavish Playboy lifestyle filled with girls, money, boats, cars and champagne. Bling Bling!

Roc-A-Fella Records Is Born

At the time, Jay-Z was a bit of an underdog in the music industry. He had tried and failed for years to secure his own record deal but was rejected for being too old or not appearing hard enough. Jay didn't fit the mold of fellow typical Brooklyn rappers who wore gold teeth and sang exclusively about dealing drugs and killing people. With Jay-Z as his partner, Damon Dash founded Roc-A-Fella records. The name was a play on oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, the richest American of all time who died with an inflation adjusted net worth of $340 billion. The name was also a nod to a famous Brooklyn drug dealer named Rocafella who Jay-Z idolized as a young hustler. That Rocafella is the one who died of AIDS and is immortalized in the NAS song "Ether" ("Rocafella died of AIDS, that was the end of his chapter And that's the guy y'all chose to name your company after?").

Damon wanted Jay to film a music video as fast as possible but there was just one problem. Roc-A-Fella Records had no money. To raise cash, Damon sought an investment from a well connected street hustler named Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Damon took 100% of Burke's $16,000 investment and poured it into producing a music video for Jay's song "In My Lifetime" on the Caribean island of St. Thomas. Burke also arranged for Jay and Damon to have access to a wealthy local kingpin's mansion and speed boat for the video: Jay-Z "In My Lifetime":

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Posted By: Jen Fad
Monday, April 1st 2013 at 9:34AM
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