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I’ve been telling my readers for months that former Roc-A-Fella founder Damon Dash would be named president of Def Jam once Jay Z‘s contract expired. It just makes sense, doesn’t it? Damon Dash made Jay Z and taught him everything he knows about the business. Without Dame there would be no Jay Z.
Jay Z repaid Dash’s loyalty by orchestrating a hostile takeover of Rocafella and abandoning his former mentor. But if Dash felt the industry had turned its back on him – all of that is about to change. Dash’s name is at the forefront of names to succeed Jay Z as president of Def Jam, including Jimmy “Henchman” Rosemond, Damon Dash, Chuck D and Jermaine Dupri.
A recent lawsuit filed against Dash is being seen as a last ditch attempt to thwart Dash’s chances of getting the top job. A lawsuit filed by Jamie Roberts, of Atlanta, alleges Damon Dash exposed his genitals to her three years ago resulting in an acute case of schizoprenia that has developed into active psychosis.
Acute schizophrenia occurs when an otherwise healthy adult demonstrates increasingly bizarre behaviour (hearing voices) as the result of a traumatic event.
Friends of Dash are speculating that the woman was paid off by someone in Jay Z’s camp to make the allegations against Dash in hopes of tarnishing his image and ruining his chances of being named his successor. It would be a blow to Jay Z’s fragile ego to have Dame replace him as president of Def Jam.
Dash insists he has never even met his 24-year-old accuser which makes the timing of the lawsuit even more suspicious.
Last year the tension between the two men escalated when Jay Z dropped this verse in his song “Lost Ones”: ‘Motherf***ers said that they made Hov/ Made Hov, Ok then, make another Hov.’ But Dame responded to the slight with style and grace:
‘If he was talking about me, I’d be disappointed,’ said Dash. ‘He could’ve just tooken me aside and told me. That’s what grown men do. Me and Jay made history, there’s no need for beef.’