"Worst marketer of all time" — Dame Dash rips into Jay-Z, labels him terrible at promoting Roc Nation artists 

Dame Dash, the popular record executive recently appeared on the Big Face Gary Show where he spoke about the rise and fall of Roc-A-Fella, and offered his opinion on his co-founder, Jay-Z. Slamming Jay-Z, Dame Dash stated that the rapper is a “terrible marketer.”

"Jay-Z was a terrible marketer, he was the worst marketer of all time. But Kanye was aggressive, very aggressive. Cameron was a great marketer. Still is. So the ones that were more proactive about helping out their crew were the ones who were best at marketing," he said.

As Jay-Z now heads Roc Nation, which is a successor to Roc-a-Fella Label, Dame Dash continued to slam Jay-Z, and claimed that the record label owner never promoted Roc Nation artists.

"I only said that he was not the best marketer, only because he wouldn’t market his other artists. That’s all," Dame said.

Dame Dash and Jay-Z started Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994 and signed many artists, including Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Jadakiss, State Property, The Diplomats, Cam’ron, and many more. The partnership between Dash and Jay-Z ultimately broke when the label became defunct many years later.

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Dame Dash and Jay-Z co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994: The rise and fall explored

Dame Dash and Jay-Z were once close partners, co-founding Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994 alongside Kareem "Biggs" Burke. The label gained momentum with the success of Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt (1996) and his 1997 follow-up In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

Roc-A-Fella's success continued with the 1999 Hard Knock Life Tour, which made the records millions, and was a hit amongst the masses. Soon after, Cam’ron also joined Roc-A-Fella, bringing in his close members, Juelz Santana, and Jimmy Jones. In 2002, the company released Cam'ron's Roc-A-Fella debut Come Home With Me which made a special place in the fan’s hearts.

Post 2002, tensions allegedly grew between Jay-Z and Dame over the company’s direction. Further disagreements and failed business ventures, such as an amusement park and a Roc-A-Fella film, Streets is Watching, added to the friction. In 2004, the situation reached a breaking point and the record label was finally brought by Def Jam.

It is worth noting that Def Jam owned 50% of the stakes in the record label, however, they eventually acquired the remaining half for $10 million. A year later, in 2005, Jay-Z became CEO of Def Jam, with an agreement that allowed him to continue managing Roc-A-Fella.

Jay-Z and Dame Dame's Roc-A-Fella released many studio albums, including Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt, In My Lifetime, Volume 1, Hard Knock Life, Life and Times of S. Carter, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, The Blueprint, The Black Album, Collision Course, Kingdom Come, and even American Gangster.

During its successful run, Roc-A-Fella Records signed several artists, including Kanye West, who released The College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation, 808s & Heartbreak, and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy through the label.

Additionally, Dame Dash and Jay-Z’s label produced several films, such as Streets is Watching, Backstage, Paid in Full, Paper Soldiers, and Fade to Black. Jay-Z now leads Roc Nation, the successor to Roc-A-Fella Records, managing artists like Alicia Keys, Big Sean, Megan Thee Stallion, DJ Khaled, and Mustard.

As Dame commented on Jay-Z and slammed him for not being “the best marketer,” it is worth noting that the rapper has not yet responded to the allegations, and has kept tight-lipped on the matter.