Dame Dash has addressed Irv Gotti’s recent comments about how JAY–Z did the majority of the heavy lifting during Roc-A-Fella Records’ prime.
via: Vibe
During a recent episode of The CEO Show, the Harlem, N.Y., native addressed the Murder Inc. Records founder’s statements, mockingly questioning Gotti’s mental state while accusing him of selling his former artists’ master recordings.
“Irv is my brother, so sometimes I worry about his mental health,” Dash said of the Queens, N.Y., native. “What I see him doing is celebrating, taking his artists’ masters and selling them and saying, ‘Y’know, this is how I make my money,’ and that’s the furthest thing that I would ever do with any one of my artists.”
The entrepreneur also pointed to his involvement in the careers of megastars like Hov and Kanye West as a testament to his value as an executive. “My thing is to keep a creative as economically empowered as possible ’cause you know what you get when you get a rich creative? You get a Kanye [West], you get a JAY-Z. So my artists generally end up being billionaires,” he said.
This past August, Irv Gotti appeared on an episode of Drink Champs, during which he addressed the glaring absence of any items or photos signaling his association with Dash at his Book of Hov Exhibit at the Brooklyn Public Library.
“I don’t know, I ain’t see it ,” Gotti said when asked if he felt Dash’s exclusion was intentional. “Probably. I don’t think Jay likes Dame.” The 53-year-old then downplayed Dash’s importance in JAY-Z reaching the heights he ultimately did as a musician. He argued that it was JAY-Z who was responsible for the creation of the hits that brought him to prominence.
“Jay didn’t need nobody,” Irv said. “[Dame] started Roc-A-Fella with Jay and Biggs [Kareem Burke], so he should get credited. [But] I’m saying the making of the records — I don’t know what you want me to say. Jay didn’t need nobody.” He continued, adding “Jay was picking the beats, Jay was rapping over the beats, Jay was making things — it was all Hov! Dame was along for the ride. It was a great ride.”
Dame Dash has been critical of JAY-Z on numerous occasions since their unceremonious split in 2004. That year, the pair, along with fellow Roc-A-Fella founder Kareem “Biggs” Burke, sold their remaining 50% stake in the label to Island Def Jam.
Watch Irv Gotti’s Drink Champs episode below.
