Dame Dash Questions Why JAY-Z Didn’t Buy His Roc-A-Fella Share
Dame Dash’s one-third share of Roc-A-Fella Records was auctioned off last week, with the State of New York placing the winning $1M bid. The former music exec has since opened up about the process, saying no one showed up to the Manhattan auction, leading him to take a jab at former partner JAY-Z’s value and to question why he didn’t put up any cash to secure the share himself.
“What this really taught me was that, in the world, homie isn’t as big as he portrays,” Dash said of the lack of interest in his Roc-A-Fella Records share, which includes Hov’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt. “I thought more people would be interested in buying it […] I thought people would at least show up. No one even showed up! […] Jay didn’t even make a bid. He didn’t think it was worth $3 million. A billionaire, supposedly.”
Dash also claimed Drake offered to put up $6 million for the 33.3% share, but backed out.
“Drake did put a bid in for $6 million, but then he disappeared. I don’t know what happened,” he said. “But other than that, no one was serious. No one wanted that sh*t, period.”
After months of prep, Dame’s Roc-A-Fella share was auctioned off last Friday in Manhattan, with New York State securing the purchase. The plan is to flip the share to cover the Harlem native’s tax debt of $8.7 million, The Post reports. More than $193,000 in unpaid child support was also taken out of the bid money.
“The auction is over but the work is not complete,” said attorney Chris Brown, who represents two plaintiffs Dash allegedly owes money. “Mr. Dash’s legacy is now New York state property. I will work with New York state and New York City as the next phase of ownership of the shares.”
JAY-Z previously made statements claiming that ownership of Reasonable Doubt would revert back to him in 2031, regardless of who purchased Dame’s share. Fearing it would deter potential bidders, a rep for the City of New York released a statement denying Hov’s claim.
“JAY-Z has issued widely publicized statements warning potential bidders that copyright ownership will revert back to him in 2031,” Gerald E. Singleton, the attorney representing the City, wrote in the letter to United States Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger. “Those statements are false and extremely damaging to the City’s interests in ensuring that the auction will generate sufficient funds to satisfy all existing child support arrearages and secure future child support payments.”
Hear Dame detail the auction below.
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