There is plenty of respect to go around in the rap world. The roots run deep and the influences can stretch for decades. Yet, it can also be a hard thing to come by. Much as it may be deserved, sometimes it isn’t given. Even if you happen to be a co-founder of the legendary Roc-A-Fella Records. In which case, you’d be Damon “Dame” Dash.
Speaking recently on The Bootleg Kev Podcast, Dash said that he finally received that “certain kind of respect”. It came from of all places, a tipsy Kanye West.
Ye toasts to Dash
Yeezy’s hyper-popular Drink Champs appearance featured the rapper diving into all sorts of topics. Cows, Vladimir Putin, freeing Larry Hoover, and mental health all got their time. When co-host N.O.R.E asked Ye who ran Roc-A-Fella better, Jay-Z or Dame Dash, the response was instant. According to West, it was Dame. “Absolutely, one thousand percent, Dame Dash,” West said. “Dame Dash the visionary.”
Responding to West’s comments on Bootleg, Dash had nothing but good words for Ye.
“…what I will say about Kanye is he’s the only one, on a real level, that’s given me a certain kind of respect. The only one…”
But don’t think it’s a big name giving props to a smaller name. The men have a history together. After all, West began producing for Roc-A-Fella back in 2000, under the wing of RAF co-founder Jay-Z. In 2001, Dash reluctantly signed West as a rapper, just to keep him from going anywhere else. Dash must have seen something he liked in Kayne, because around this time he began to heavily promote West as an up-and-comer. 2003 comes, and Ye drops “Through The Wire”, followed by The College Dropout. The rest is history.
As Dash went on to say: “And it doesn’t matter because he’s the biggest one, right? He’s the only billionaire in the whole crew. It’s funny, you know? He’s the only one to pay proper respect, and he’s always been that guy.”
