"We'd be way ahead, and I wouldn't have to work as hard." Dash knew he didn't have musical talent but sensed he had struck platinum when he signed Brooklyn bad boy Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, who had been rejected by other record labels. "If I could rap to sell my s-t, I would," Dash shrugs. Multitasking from the start, he hosted parties in Harlem in the early 1990s while starting a music-management business. Raised in East Harlem by a single mother who worked as a secretary, Dash has been an entrepreneur since he bounced in and out of private prep schools on scholarships. "If Jay-Z isn't making any more albums, then the whole company loses its platform." How might Dash stay hot without Jay-Z? By tapping into the same qualities that fueled him in the early days: hustle and marketing savvy. "We wouldn't know about RocaWear clothing without Jay-Z," says Morris Reid, head of Westin Rinehart, a Washington, D.C., marketing firm. Imagine the Foreman Grill without George Foreman, and you have some idea of the challenge that Dash confronts. Not only does Dash lose an artist who has sold more than 20 million albums, but he must go forward without the very face of Roc-a-Fella Records, and RocaWear's most influential spokesman. Last year the multiplatinum rapper, who helped turn Roc-a-Fella Records into a profitable label, with $65 million in annual revenues, announced that he was retiring from rap. And he is facing those new challenges without his secret weapon: Jay-Z. The expansion takes Dash well outside the areas of expertise in which he has thrived. He is even pushing a line of vodka called Armandale and has launched a luxury magazine named America. He has signed up pop singer Samantha Ronson. He has shifted from gangsta flicks to independent films-his latest, The Woodsman, an indie starring Kevin Bacon, won awards at Sundance and Cannes this year. He's now moving from hip-hop to mainstream, acquiring clothing lines that appeal to mall rats more than to the boyz in the hood. What does Dash's America look like? Actually, a lot like the old one. Diddy's Blue Flame Marketing & Advertising. "Damon isn't just marketing the culture, he's creating the culture," says Jameel Spencer, president of rival P. While the history of rap is littered with the grand plans of businessmen-including MC Hammer, OutKast, and the Wu-Tang Clan-Dash's ten-year track record lands him in the upper echelon of hip-hop entrepreneurs, alongside Russell Simmons and Sean "P. To fuel that growth, Dash still counts on his two main businesses, hip-hop records and clothing, which industry analysts say bring in close to $200 million in annual sales. The 33-year-old is on an acquisition spree, buying or licensing half-a-dozen companies over the past two years. The scene feels as if it were pulled from MTV's Cribs.ĭash's hyperbole mirrors the brash optimism with which he rules his company. A closet holds hundreds of pairs of new white athletic shoes. There's a Brunswick fawn-colored pool table, two Cruisin' in Exotica racecar arcade games, a mug shot of Frank Sinatra, and a marble-top chef's kitchen. "My company will be worth billions of dollars-maybe worth a quarter of a trillion." The CEO of Roc-a-Fella Records and RocaWear clothing is standing in his 6,500-square-foot home in Manhattan's TriBeCa district. I usually combine holidays with work, but my last proper break was in Brazil.(FORTUNE Small Business) – "I'm going to take over the world," boasts Damon Dash. Where was the last place you went on holiday? It turned into a pretty late night afterwards, too. What was the last gig you went to in London and did you enjoy it? I like to wear new things every day - people call me 'Fresh to death'. I've been wearing the same style since I was 12. Last time I was there I was teasing Jade Jagger and telling her that we had replaced her dad's band as the hottest rock stars.Ĭhanel Platinum Egoïste. We didn't have a hit record at the time, but the crowd was pretty responsive. Performing with Jay-Z and the Fugees at Wembley. I also read self-improvement books such as The Celestine Prophecy. I get through a lot of scripts but business plans take up most of my spare time. New West End Company BRANDPOST | PAID CONTENT.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |