Damon Dash

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Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971), also known as Dame Dash, is an American entrepreneur, music producer and actor. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records along with Shawn "JAY-Z" Carter and Kareem "Biggs" Burke.

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Biography

Early life

Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barbershop and sold newspapers in order to buy sneakers and shirts as a teenager. Dash "learned to hustle", in his own words, from the example of his mother, who died of an asthma attack when he was 15. Dash was sent to a private school in order to receive a better education. His success helped him discover the different fields he wanted to branch out into.

Career

Dash served as Jay-Z's former manager and business partner at Roc-A-Fella Records, and in 1999, he organized a tour for Jay-Z which made $19 million. Their relationship soured as a result of two subsequent events. The first was when Roc-A-Fella Records was purchased by Def Jam Recordings (which had previously only owned half of the company) in 2004, after which Jay-Z agreed to take a job as Def Jam's president. Then, in late 2005, Jay-Z bought Dash out of his stake in Rocawear. In April 2014, it was announced that Dash is also involved with Blind Debit, a fingerprint payment application being developed by Dez White.

Maps Damon Dash

Personal life

Dash met R&B singer Aaliyah in late 1999 through his accountant in New York City and dated her until her death on August 25, 2001 in a plane crash in The Bahamas. Though they were not formally engaged, in interviews given after Aaliyah's death, Dash stated that the couple had planned to marry.