Damon Dash Planning “Brutally Honest” Roc-A-Fella Records TV Drama
The breakup of the Roc-A-Fella Records dynasty is one of the great recent tragedies in the world of pop music, and we could soon see a TV series about it. The breakup went down when Jay Z split with label co-founders Damon Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke in 2005, and now Deadline reports that Dash is planning a new TV show that will provide a “brutally honest account” of the drama.
The famously flamboyant self-promoter Dash has teamed up with Preachers Of LA producer Lemuel Plummer for the as-yet-untitled show, which the two of them compare to Vinyl and The People Vs OJ Simpson. They’re probably also looking at the recent success of shows like Empire and Power, which depict the backroom goings-on in fictionalized versions of the rap industry. And the Roc-A-Fella story probably has as many real-life twists as those fictional shows, especially with recent rumors that Beyoncé’s Lemonade album addressed the alleged affair between Jay and Dash’s ex-wife Rachel Roy.
Roc-A-Fella was, in its time, the biggest, most dominant rap label going, and nothing today comes close. And if Dash lines up all the rights, the show could have an amazing soundtrack. Of that soundtrack, Dash says that it will feature “as much music as I could get. I know what I own, and there’s a lot of different artists that would probably not have a problem with participating. And hopefully Jay doesn’t either, but as of yet we haven’t crossed that barrier. I’m not worried about that.” I was in the same room as Jay and Dame once in 2005, at the trial of producer Irv Gotti, and I can tell you that Jay was not trying to talk to Dame then. Maybe he’s mellowed since, but I still can’t imagine how that conversation would go.
If you like, go ahead and imagine the cast in the comments section. Who plays Jay? Dame? Aaliyah? Beanie Sigel? Freeway? Could Freeway just play himself? Please?