Dame Dash Dropping Gems; Speaks on Jay-Z, Kanye and Kevin Hart

On Putting Kevin Hart in movies:

I took him off the stage and put them in a movie put him in a movie the next day.

Why?

“I was confident in the fact that I thought he was funny. … the role I needed, he fit the role. I needed a little dude that was funny that could make fun of himself. He fit the bill. And he just took the opportunity – like I give a lot of people the same opportunities and I see potential in a lot of people that don’t realize them. Effort, and again as a professional athlete, you know, you can be good but not have the discipline and you end up going nowhere. So Kevin was just one of those people that had the work ethic and took the opportunity. And I might not agree with everything he’s done, but you know, he’s got where he has to go.”

On knowledge he took from the streets and incorporate present day:

 Everything. Marketing, you know, you had a color top and definitely somebody came on the block using your color and that was a problem because they could compromise what people think about your work. And then also infrastructure. I had a team at a young age – I had people working for me, I had to collect, had to re-up, all that type of thing.

But the difference is, I was you know, definitely way past 20 years ago when I was really young, and I applied all those things to what I do now. The difference is the recourse isn’t jail or death – so the shit is easy. That’s my point. If you fail in that world, you go to jail or you die. That’s why I stopped, it’s not sustainable in my teens. But in this world, what the f*** is gonna happen?

On meeting Jay-Z, and what made Dame Dash think the 26 year old rapper could be big in the industry:

Because he had on Nike Airs. He was from Brooklyn; I was from Harlem, and back in those days Brooklyn dudes didn’t wear Nike Airs, so that was a flag for me.

On the Roc-A-Fella chain, and why was it so popular:

“Because I made it popular. By saying, ‘let’s make a Roc-A-Fella chain’ and if you noticed, me, I would publicaly give them away. And I was the only one that gave them away. So if I didn’t give you a Roc-A-Fella chain, you don’t have a real Roc-A-Fella chain. It’s fuego.

On Kanye, and if when he met him, did he know how big he would become?

No, I never expected that in a billion years … I didn’t expect it. I expected other people that were in my crew to be Kanye. I expected someone to do those things, but I didn’t know it would be him. But the reason why it was him is because he had the most respect for me. He’s the only one that listened completely. And still does – on certain levels.

On why and how the Yeezy brand has been able to make up ground on the Jordan Brand and become so popular in a very short time:

“(Michael) Jordan didn’t make music. Jordan was known for playing good basketball. Kanye is known for something completely different. If Michael Jackson had sneakers, and they were designed well, he would have made more money than Michael Jordan.