Jay-Z |
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Tue. January 07.2003 3:14 PM EST |
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Damon Dash's Piece of the RocHip-hop mogul moves from the music industry to fashion and film, and still saves time for a bit of dancing. by C. Bottomley and Jim Macnie |
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Damon Dash (Linda Zacks) |
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Roc-a-fella CEO Damon Dash says that half his job is going to parties and shooting videos. But he's fibbing a bit. You don't become a music mogul and clothing kingpin by socializing and head nodding alone. And you don't explode your brand by
The 31-year-old Dash is a bootstraps go-getter. When record labels refused to sign the young Jay-Z, the aspiring mogul and his MC pal began their own business. After Miramax disowned the Dash-produced gangster film Paid in Full, the budding director decided to steer the hip-hop comedy Death of a Dynasty himself. Film is yet another burgeoning field of interest for Dash. All this entrepreneurship seems to be working out just fine. Roc-a-fella is now valued at $300 million, and as Dash explains, thats the tip of the iceberg. The labels latest release Paid in Full/Dream Team highlights a new crop of talent, including the red-hot Philly rapper Freeway, a revitalized M.O.P. and M.A.J., who the boss describes as Rocs answer to Jimi Hendrix. Dash sat down with VH1 to talk about his hands off approach to artists, wearing a new pair of shoes everyday, and how the right beats will get his butt in gear every time. VH1: When did the dancing onstage with Jay-Z start? Damon Dash: I dont care how I look, I always dance wherever Im at. Its not for show; I really feel the music. Since the Big Pimpin video Ive had to dance. Every year its like whatever I do new, thats the Dame Dash. VH1: What was the high point of the year for Roc-a-fella? Dash: I dont want to say that everything Roc-a-fella did this year was expected, but I wouldnt still be in the business if I didnt think there was so much more to have. I got money for an urban kid, but I dont have no real money for a real individual. I should be a billionaire. VH1: What did you want to be when you were growing up? Dash: When I was in kindergarten, I wanted to be a pediatrician. Then I saw a kid get his arm broke and I was like "whoa!" I like kids. I dont like [pain]. I got into the hip-hop business because I went to an industry party thrown by Heavy D. I saw all these dudes having fun, and buying champagne, and I felt like they werent half the man that I was. I was like, These guys are getting paid for drinking champagne? And all the girls like them? Im coming to get all that money! [Watch Clip] VH1: Did it turn out to be as fun as you expected? Dash: Half my job is going to parties, shooting videos, and things like that. It can become tiring. And I gotta pay a lot of taxes on a lot of money - but thats not really that bad of a problem. Overall its a pretty fun business. But you have to be prepared to work and hustle. VH1: The Roc-a-fella empire is now valued at $300 million. Whats been your most extravagant purchase? Dash: I hate taking commercial flights, so the private jets are starting to get a little expensive. VH1: What other entrepreneurs do you respect? Dash: Russell Simmons. Ive always looked to him for advice, and hes always given it to me. You can learn from his mistakes and from when he does the right thing. He just goes with the flow and Ive never seen him hate. Hes always spoken well about me when a lot of people didnt. VH1: When you first heard Jay-Z rap did you think to yourself This guy can go all the way? Dash: I knew that he was the one. But not everyone heard what I heard. I couldnt understand why people wouldnt sign him. Ive always had confidence in what I am and what Jay was. When these dudes started lecturing me about music, and our life experience, and how to rap about it, I realized I could never let a square tell me what to do. Im glad we stuck to our guns. [Watch Clip] VH1: Whats your favorite hip-hop album? Dash: Jay-Zs first album, Reasonable Doubt. Jay raps about whats going on in his life and the emotion he feels while its going on. Whatever hes talking about is exactly what we were doing. That was such a defining time in our lives. It was like our last days outside the music business. It brings back those memories, keeps you grounded and makes you appreciate where youre at. VH1: On the Dream Team album you refer to Roc-a-fella as both a family and an army. Why those images? Dash: Because its true. We are a family. We love each other like brothers. But weve also gone through a lot of wars to protect our No. 1 slot. Weve battled anyone thats been worthy, like Nas or the L.O.X.. But weve kept it on vinyl. It would be retarded to get into any physical beef over music. VH1: You recently signed M.O.P. and Camron, two artists whose old labels didn't get off the ground. Are you taking a new approach to their careers? Dash: Im going to give Camron an environment where he can just grow and let him do what he has to do. I feel M.O.P. delivered the hits and the records, but people didn't understand their demographic. Ill let them be themselves. It will filter into a commercial level as long as its legit. VH1: You and Jay-Z were friends before you were business partners. How much influence do you exert on his career? Dash: I give my opinion, but its the artists vision [that ultimately triumphs]. Id rather them fail at doing what they want than steer them toward something else. Id rather them learn on their own way - that way it's never going to ever be my fault [if something goes wrong]. Its their music. Im capitalizing off them. All I can do is give advice. I never enforce, ever, to any of my artists. VH1: So even if you think an artist is headed in the wrong direction youll hush up? Dash: Yeah. It happens all the time. Even with Jay. I dont always agree with the singles or the videos - or sometimes the lack of videos - that he does. But its Jay. Theres nothing I can say about it. He delivers us an album every year, and a good one. Hes earned the right to do whatever he wants to do. I give my opinion, but if he wants something different, its like all right. As long as I told you. VH1: Roc-a-Fella isnt just a music label. Youve got a clothing line, movies and your own brand of vodka. What prominent brands are you loyal to? Dash: Nike Airs. Adidas. New Era hats. I wear Versace and Armani suits. They represent great quality. Plus they dont make tight pants. I dont like tight pants. VH1: It's said you wear a new pair of shoes everyday. True? Dash: If I like something, I always buy it in abundance because I only want to wear it once or twice. Its all relative. I know people that spend $2000 or $3000 on a pair of shoes. I can get 20 or 30 pairs of shoes for that! VH1: You recently purchased Armadale vodka. Was it really motivated by the desire to be compensated for mentioning brand names in songs? Dash: Yeah. If were doubling the value of someone's stock, we might as well be the ones to make money out of it. Our vodka is as good as Grey Goose or Belvedere. Usually we buy anything that we spend a lot of money on, so we dont have to spend any more money on it anymore! VH1: When did you first notice the mention of a consumer item in a song inspiring a trend? Dash: About 10 years ago. We would be like, Okay, lets start making people wear platinum. So me and my partner Kareem Biggs Burke went and found platinum watches. All of a sudden everyones wearing platinum. When Jay-Z started talking about Iceberg jeans, their [prominence] definitely doubled. Same thing with Cristal. Weve always tried to be trendsetters. VH1: With all this branching out into non-music arenas, does the recording industry still have any appeal for you? Dash: I love music, but I really hate the business of music and the politics that go with it. After 10 years, Im definitely a little frustrated with it. But I have an obligation to my artists. When I sign them, they want me there as a CEO. I cant just fall back. VH1: You produced the film Paid in Full but then it was kept on the shelf for a year. Is it tougher dealing with film execs than it is music execs? Dash: Yeah, theyre pretty disrespectful. But its cool, because they make me find a way to make it more lucrative for me. Like I have an iller chip on my shoulder. VH1: There seems to be a double standard when Jay-Zs movie State Property barely squeaks into theatres, while Eminems 8-Mile makes $51.2 million in a weekend. Dash: State Property I could kind of understand because its a pretty violent picture, but I felt Paid in Full was art. The New York Times compared it to Martin Scorseses Mean Streets. The execs over at Miramax and Dimension just couldnt see it. 8-Mile is about a white kid in the black experience - not to take anything from Eminem because hes really a good rapper and went through it - so seeing a kid be a minority [character] and win appeals to more than just hip-hop fans. But if you really want to see a good movie, Paid in Full explored my culture and let people understand living that life and the repercussions of it. When people do get to see it theyll understand where Im coming from and why I was so upset about it. [Watch Clip] VH1: Tell us a bit about your next movie, Death of a Dynasty. Dash: I directed that one myself. Its a straight-up spoof. I dont play me and Jay-Z doesnt play Jay, because were not comedians, but its our take on how we think people see us. People thought I was going to make another State Property. But I thought I would use this opportunity to spoof what you expect. I brought together the fashion world and the acting world and the music world for it. Lorraine Braccos in it. I got socialites in it. I got the model Devon Aoki in it. Comedians are in it. A lot of people. VH1: Whats the biggest misconception people have about you? Dash: Whatever [aspect of me that] people see, they think Im like that all day long. If you see me arguing, you think I argue all day. If you see me drunk you think Im drunk all day. Im human - I have different emotions. You can look at me in the Big Pimpin video or in [the 2000 Roc-a-fella documentary] Back Stage and its two dramatically different people. So Im considered to be this real asshole and then Im considered to be this real funny dude or this real smart dude or this ill parent. Im human! |
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