In a recent interview on the That’s F***ed Up Podcast, Roc-A-Fella co-founder Dame Dash opened up about his relationship with the late Aaliyah and how it affected his friendship with JAY-Z. Dash recalled how he and JAY-Z both pursued Aaliyah, leading to a rivalry between the two. “Everybody was getting at Aaliyah,” Dash revealed, noting that Aaliyah was a highly sought-after figure in the industry.
“I just threw my A-game and I guess Jay was trying to get at her as well and I didn’t know,” he explained. “Then it got brought up and I was like, ‘Fuck both of y’all.’ It never worked out for them and we were both trying to get at her. I eased up and then we ran into each other.
“Everybody was getting at Aaliyah, bro. She’ll go to dinner with a n-gga but she wasn’t just gonna be smashing. So that was like the big deal — who could get with Aaliyah.”
According to Dash, the tension between him and JAY-Z came to a head at a July 4 party in 2000, where all three were in attendance. Despite both courting the “One In A Million” singer, Dash ended up connecting with Aaliyah, which reportedly left JAY-Z feeling a certain way.
“He was sending flowers and doing all that shit — he was courting her,” Dame added. “So we were both going hard and we ended up in the same house Fourth of July. It was like one day it might lean toward him, then it would lean toward me.
“I was just on fire that week. Everything I was saying was funny. I remember coming down after it happened and he was like, ‘You know this gonna be hard for me.’ His friends were laughing at him and shit.”
Dame and Aaliyah met through having the same accountant in 2000 and eventually started dating until her tragic death in August 2001 due to a plane crash in The Bahamas.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Dame was asked about R. Kelly’s relationship with Aaliyah and whether or not the disgraced R&B singer belongs in prison. With no hesitation, Dash said: “I think he’s where he belongs. I know Aaliyah, so I know what he did.” Because he also dated the late singer, Dame Dash added, “I can’t be objective about that, you know what I’m saying? But he definitely seemed like he needed some help.”
The 52-year-old entrepreneur went on to mention that one of the reasons he had a falling out with JAY-Z, who he founded Roc-A-Fella Records with, was because the rapper continued to collaborate with R. Kelly regardless of what he knew. “I couldn’t believe he did a project with R. Kelly knowing that he had raped my girl,” he said. “I was like, ‘Just don’t put my name on that, I don’t want no money from that. If it is, put it to Aaliyah foundation’… like they did this shit twice.”
You can watch the full interview below:
