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Damon Anthony Dash, a.k.a. Dame Dash, recently opened up about why he cut ties with Jay-Z. While discussing R. Kelly during his appearance on the YouTube channel The Art of Dialogue on Sunday, December 22, 2024, the former record executive expressed his confusion at Hov wanting to be around R. Kelly.
"The fact that Jay was f*cking with him, is what used to blow my mind more than anything," Dash said.
For the unversed, Kelly is currently serving a 31-year sentence after being found guilty of s*x trafficking and racketeering (2022), child s*x abuse (2022), and child p*rnography (2023). When the interviewer questioned if Jay-Z knew about Kelly and Aaliyah, Dash replied:
"Everybody knew R Kelly married Aaliyah at 15, everybody knew that. So the conversation (we) had like, 'Yo, how you gonna go and do something with this due?' Hell yeah, that conversation was had."
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According to an article from June 2022 by Fox 5, R. Kelly and Aaliyah dated sometime in the early 1990s and secretly tied the knot in August 1994 when the latter was just 15 while he was 27. However, they married using a license, falsely listing her as 18.
Dame Dash claimed Jay-Z worked with R Kelly despite being in love with Aaliyah
During his appearance on The Art of Dialogue, Dame Dash claimed Jay-Z "loved" Aaliyah and still chose to maintain a working relationship with R. Kelly. He rhetorically questioned:
"Would you still f*ck with a n**ga that fu*ked with someone that r*ped your girl? Would you still do anything with that person?"
Dash referenced Hov working with Kelly on their collaborative album, The Best of Both Worlds, which dropped in March 2002. It is to be noted that Dash and Aaliyah dated until the latter's death in August 2001.
He explained that it was the "nail in the coffin" for him, and he didn't want any part in it. When the host asked how Jay-Z responded when confronted about working with R. Kelly, Dash explained:
"You know how he is. He's like 'Yo, I ain't got nothing to do with that. But I would love is for someone to ask him, like, 'Why would you still do a project with that man, knowing that he r*ped Aaliyah."
Dame Dash reiterated that it was what burned the bridge between them. He also explained that it was why he left Roc-A-Fella and Rocawear (Jay-Z and Dame Dash co-founded both companies).
During the interview, Dame Dash also spoke about Jay-Z being named co-defendant in a Diddy lawsuit. The victim (who initially sued Diddy in October 2024) claimed both men took turns r*ping her as an unnamed female celebrity watched at an MTV VMA after-party in 2000, as per BBC.
Dash claimed that he, too, was accused of something that he hadn't done but added that he didn't receive as much criticism as Hov. He reasoned it was due to the differences in their fame. Hoping that nothing inappropriate happened, Dash explained that this was the first time "white media" didn't give Jay-Z "a pass," adding:
"Like, he can control Black media 'cause a lot of them either work or do business with him."
However, Hov has denied the accusation against him and claimed that the victim's attorney, Tony Buzbee, had filed a false claim without proper vetting. He has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Hov has not publicly reacted to Dame Dash's comments.
