Dame Dash recently reignited a decades-long conversation surrounding Memphis Bleek, offering candid—if controversial—insights into their shared history at Roc-A-Fella Records. In a recent interview, Dash suggested that Bleek lacked the ambition and ability to lead the label after JAY-Z’s hypothetical retirement.
“I don’t think Bleek wanted to take over Roc-A-Fella,” Dash remarked. “I don’t think he had the ability. Jay was writing a lot of his rhymes, so if Jay retired, that meant Bleek’s business would’ve ended too.”
Dash didn’t stop there, urging fans to ask Bleek directly about the matter while implying JAY-Z served as a ghostwriter for the Brooklyn emcee. “I probably shouldn’t have said that,” Dash admitted. “But he’s been talking about me lately. I didn’t think it was a secret—I thought everybody knew.”
The former Roc-A-Fella executive also critiqued Bleek’s drive during their time at the label. “I always had to push Bleek to release an album,” he claimed. “I personally wanted more for him than he wanted for himself. I’d argue, ‘Do your own shows. Stop relying on JAY-Z for everything. You have to build your own path.’”
Bleek didn’t take the comments lightly. Responding on X (formerly Twitter), he fired back with humor and defiance. “He wilding right now, bro,” Bleek wrote, accompanied by crying-laughing emojis.
Addressing the ghostwriting claim, he added, “I wish—maybe I’d still be lit. And people said I was whack, so if Jay wrote for me, he whack too.”
The rapper also teased plans to tackle these claims on his upcoming podcast, Roc Solid Pod, set to debut in 2025. “These types of conversations Dame is sparking are the reason the podcast gotta drop. We’re talking about all this,” he wrote, once again punctuating his post with crying-laughing emojis.
JAY-Z has yet to comment on the controversy, but Dame’s remarks have added fuel to an ongoing narrative about his and Bleek’s complex history. In previous interviews, Dash claimed he “saved” Bleek from a predatory production deal that siphoned off his publishing and royalties.
“People close to him were robbing him,” Dash said. “When he signed his record deal, someone already had him in a bad production contract. I’m not naming names—it’s his story to tell. But all his publishing was getting taken.”
Dash detailed how he helped secure a lawyer and accountant for Bleek, a move he says caused tension within their circle. “He was from Brooklyn, and Brooklyn cats were robbing him. I saved him from that, and he acknowledges it.”
The conversation underscores the intertwined legacies of Roc-A-Fella’s key players, proving their relationships remain as layered and polarizing as ever.
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