Dame Dash recently appeared on The Art Of Dialogue to talk about Jay-Z once again, which should come as absolutely no surprise to those in the loop. He continues to reflect critically on how they fell out and on his assessments of Jay's character. At one point of the interview, Dame brought up Hov's competitive rap and business spirit to reflect on how Lupe Fiasco apparently almost became a Roc-A-Fella signee.
The remarks started with a general statement about Jay not liking other rappers because he saw them as competitors, "other than to get influenced by them." However, that's when he brought up that the Roc Nation mogul actually really liked Lupe.
"But again, he didn't sign him," Dash continued. "I don't think he would ever help a rapper be bigger than him. Just human nature-wise. But I do remember, Lupe was supposed to be with us... Lupe ended up signing to Atlantic. But Lupe was supposed to be at Roc-A-Fella. So that's the only rapper, I think – but I don't think he saw him as a threat at the time. But he didn't sign him for a reason. Again, it was a while ago, but as it relates to that question, that's all I can remember."
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Lupe Fiasco & Jay-Z's History
Lupe Fiasco and Jay-Z's connection has already come under scrutiny. Back in 2016, Lupe's mentor Charles "Chilly" Patton recounted how Jay allegedly and likely unknowingly set up Fiasco's contentious relationship with Atlantic Records.
"Jay-Z hit me like, ‘Yo, I’m coming to Atlantic Records. I’m going to to be the president of Atlantic Records,’" he shared. "L.A. Reid was my man. I introduced L.A. Reid to Jay-Z. That’s how they got tight. So Jay’s like, ‘I’m coming to Atlantic. I need you and Lupe over at Atlantic with me.’ I’m like, ‘Cool.’ I’m thinking Jay’s coming to Atlantic so I do the deal. When I get out [of jail], Jay hit me — I’ll never forget it — at two in the morning like, ‘Yo, L.A. [Reid] hit me [and offered me the presidency of Def Jam]. I’ll give you your masters, I’ll give you this, I’ll give you this.’ It was a courtesy call on some brother s**t, but really, he was telling me he wasn’t coming to Atlantic."
There are also other recent crossovers that raised fan's eyebrows. For example, Lupe Fiasco commented on Dame Dash's share of Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt, urging via social media for none other than Drake to purchase it.
