Dame Dash has shared more details about his NFT lawsuit involving Jay-Z.
During a recent sit-down with VEUIT TV, the hip-hop mogul addressed his decision to enter the blockchain space, and how it was motivated by a lowball offer. In 2021, Dame attempted to sell his shares of the iconic music imprint Roc-A-Fella, which he and Jay co-founded nearly three decades ago. Dame claimed Hov was willing to buy his stake in the company, but only wanted to shell out $1.5 million. The music executive was offended by the offer, so he and his team began exploring other options.
In 2022, it was reported that Dame was trying to sell Hov’s debut album Reasonable Doubt as an NFT, which prompted Roc-A-Fella to file a lawsuit. Dame later clarified he never attempted to mint and sell a portion of the project, but was instead trying to sell his stake in the imprint. He reiterated this claim during his VEUIT interview.
At the 29:30 mark above, he remarked, “When I was offered a certain amount of money for my interest in Roc-A-Fella Inc., which owns Reasonable Doubt, they offered me, like, a million and a half dollars—Jay-Z. And I was like, ‘That’s some disrespectful shit. So, I guess I have to sell it someplace else.’”
Dame said he then consulted with his cousin and an attorney named Ronald Sweeney, who suggested he sell his shares as an NFT. Dame ultimately agreed to the move, believing it would result in a bigger payout; however, Roc-A-Fella squashed those plans by accusing Dame of trying to sell Reasonable Doubt as an NFT.
“The bottom line is simple: Dash can’t sell what he doesn’t own,” the company argued, as reported by Rolling Stone. “By attempting such a sale, Dash has converted a corporate asset and has breached his fiduciary duties. His planned auction of Reasonable Doubt would result in irreparable harm. The Court should stop Dash from attempting to sell the copyright to Reasonable Doubt, require Dash to return the NFT of Reasonable Doubt to RAF, Inc., and hold him accountable for this brazen theft of RAF, Inc.’s most prized asset.”
Dame, again, insisted the lawsuit was based on inaccuracies.
“I got the lawsuit, ’cause again, I got accused of doing something I didn’t, to stop me from doing it, and then everybody just went missing,” he said. “So I had to deal with the lawsuit on my own.”
The lawsuit was settled in summer 2022, when the parties agreed Damon Dash could sell his stake in the label, but could not “dispose of any property interest in Reasonable Doubt.”
“Nothing in this Judgment shall prevent any shareholder or member of RAF, Inc. from selling, assigning, pledging, encumbering, contracting with regard to, or in any way disposing of their one-third (1/3rd) ownership interest in RAF, Inc.,” the agreement read.
You can check out Dame’s full interview above.