The Roc Boys in the building tonight.
Jay-Z and Kareem “Biggs” Burke objected to the sale of former business partner Dame Dash‘s shares of Roc-A-Fella Records to settle a $832,000 judgment – according to court documents.
Radar Online broke the news last week that Dame was ordered to sell his shares of the legendary record label, despite objections from Jay-Z and Biggs, after refusing to pay film producer Josh Weber over the 2016 film Dear Frank.
In 2019, Josh Weber sued Dame Dash for copyright infringement and defamation as Dash was set to direct the movie but ultimately fired. The claim by Weber and Muddy Water Pictures was that Dame tried to shop the film around after removal while he claimed the film was shot at his house with all of his equipment, then stole the footage for the movie. Dash lost the film rights battle in court in March 2022 and was ordered to pay $800,000 to the film’s director and producers.
While Roc-a-Fella founders have been at odds since the breakup in 2013, Jay-Z and Kareem “Biggs” Burke objected to Dame having to sell his shares in an auction, as company bylaws require the board of directors to approve the sale. Nevertheless, U.S. Magistrate Robert W. Lehrburger ruled that the former exec’s one-third ownership of Roc-A-Fella can, in fact, be seized to cover the judgment. The court ordered Roc-A-Fella to deliver Dash’s stock certification to the Marshal’s Service within 180 days, the outlet reports.
Jay-Z and Biggs were blasted by Lehrburger because they adopted the no-sell-off clause in 2021 while Dash was absent. In order to prevent an outsider from buying Roc-A-Fella, Lehrburger said, “They can participate in the auction and place the winning bid”.
Founded in 1994, Roc-A-Fella Records produced some of the biggest names in music including Kanye West, Cam’Ron, Beanie Sigel, and Jay-Z. The label’s catalog includes The Blueprint, The College Dropout, Graduation, The Black Album, Come Home With Me, and Philadelphia Freeway.
In January 2023, Dame shared with Veuit Podcast that Jay-Z offered him a “disrespectful” number for his portion of Roc-A-Fella. “I was offered a certain amount of money for my interest in Roc-A-Fella Inc., which owns Reasonable Doubt,’” said Dame. “They offered me like $1.5 million — Jay-Z. And I was like, ‘That’s some disrespectful sh-t. So, I guess I gotta sell it someplace else.’”