The New York state government will effectively be doing business with Jay-Z, at least for a while, after it bought a third of the singer's legendary records at a federal auction last week.
The state has become a strange part of hip-hop history. That's because the label's embattled co-founder Damon Dash owes New York City $8.7 million in unpaid taxes, which Empire State hopes to recover.
But that's not why the 53-year-old Dash was put up for auction. In reality, it was an $823,000 judgment in a lawsuit filed by a film producer that led to the court-ordered sale. According to Billboard.com.
Dash's fortunes have taken a turn for the worse since the good old days of opening Rock-A-Fella in 1996 with Jay and Kareem “Biggs” Burke.
So when the sentence was handed down, this man who was said to be “proud to have lost his fortune” obviously had nothing to give. As a result, the court ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to auction Mr. Dash's 33.3% stake in Rock-A-Fella, whose main asset was the rights to Jay-Z's classic debut album, Reasonable Doubt. requested.
It was a shocking fall for Dash, who, according to hip-hop historian AJ Woodson, was once the ground commander of Jay-Z's burgeoning empire.
“If Jay-Z was an artist and maybe a CEO, Dame Dash was the one doing the day-to-day work,” he wrote in his 2023 book, We Got Our Own Thang: A Look at Hip-Hop. says Woodson, author of . 914,” he told the Post on Wednesday.
Woodson recalled first meeting Dash while writing about another hip-hop group at the time — Dash was Jay's biggest hype guy at the time.
“There was a guy with a big mouth and he was basically like, 'Oh, we got the best rapper in the game!'” He took over the game, we took over fashion, and these I'm going to do it all. ”
“I kind of ignored him,” Woodson said. “You hear this every day. Everyone is great.”
Years later, Woodson admitted to Dash that although he didn't believe his cheeky remarks at the time, the trio did everything they promised and more.
But when Jay-Z leaps into the rarefied air of superstardom, Dash is left behind. And things have only gotten worse over the years, as he's embroiled in a bitter lawsuit, struggling to pay child support, and was arrested in 2019 for failing to pay more than $400,000 to two different women with whom he shared a child. is.
According to Billboard, New York City is still seeking more than $145,000 in unpaid child support from the fallen mogul, which will likely be paid out of the bid.
Dash's recent string of financial woes stems from a film lawsuit filed by producer Josh Weber after Dash was canned from the film Dear Frank, the newspaper reported. .
Weber and Muddy Water Pictures claimed in the lawsuit that Dash, a Harlem native, tried to mislead the public into believing he had anything to do with the film even after he was dropped from it. TMZ reported in 2019.
Dash joined the production three years ago and was also set to direct. However, TMZ reports that he was unable to handle the assignment and was “frequently getting high” on set while filming at his Sherman Oaks property.
Weber and his production company dropped Dash from the role in 2018 and produced the film without him.
But after the ousted director tried to say he was involved in the film, Webber filed a lawsuit, and his court victory meant that the auction, originally scheduled by federal authorities, would now take place on August 29. It became.
According to Billboard, the minimum bid for Dash's stock is $1.2 million.
“I got a lot of calls and a lot of offers,” Dash said. I said this in a summer Instagram post.. “We'll see who comes along, but I've certainly had some very healthy offers and I'm grateful for them.
“So if you really want to buy a third of Rock-A-Fella's stock, you're going to have to bring the bread,” he continued, adding that if the winning bidder pays more than $10 million, he'll get his hands on it. He added that he would enter. “Original Roc-A-Fella chain removed from neck.”
But then Jay-Z intervened, delaying the auction and claiming future ownership of “Reasonable Doubt,” contractually stating that it would be his only in 2031.
This means that the winning bidder will only be able to own a portion of the album for six years.
Jay's attorney said a New York City attorney tried to contest his claim, but a judge granted the rapper's claim.
In addition, Roc-A-Fella's extensive catalog of hits was owned by someone else and was not part of the sale, Billboard said.
In the end, last week's auction didn't bring in as much cash as Dash had expected.
An anonymous representative from the city of Albany participated in the $1 million creditor bid, which means the state won't have to pay any money upfront and can resell the stock risk-free.
“Mr. Dash's estate is now property in the state of New York,” Weber's attorney Chris Brown said after the sale.
State officials reportedly plan to sell the stake to reduce Dash's tax debt.
This entire ordeal served as the culmination to Dash's fall from glory. But as far as I'm concerned, he went broke chasing his dreams.
“Someone asked me how I got so broke. Investing in a dream,” says Dash. he said in an Instagram video.
“When you invest in dreams and you dream big, you end up going bankrupt,” he continued.
“There will be a lot of ST. But I don't have money for anyone else. Call it bankruptcy. But it is what it is.”
