Damon Dash

Early life

Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barbershop and sold newspapers in order to buy sneakers and shirts as a teenager. Dash "learned to hustle", in his own words, from the example of his mother, who died of an asthma attack when he was 15. The same year, Dash was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. "Before I was diagnosed... I went about a month or two just going to the bathroom non-stop and losing weight", Dash recalled. "Magic Johnson had just been diagnosed with AIDS, so that's what I thought I had. I was scared to even go to the doctor. I thought I was going to die."

Career

Dash served as Jay-Z's manager and business partner at Roc-A-Fella Records, and in 1999, he organized a tour for Jay-Z which made $19 million. Their relationship soured as a result of two subsequent events. The first was when Roc-A-Fella Records was purchased by Def Jam Recordings (which had previously only owned half of the company) in 2004, after which Jay-Z agreed to take a job as Def Jam's president. Then, in late 2005, Jay-Z bought Dash out of his stake in Rocawear.

In April 2014, it was announced that Dash is involved with Blind Debit, a fingerprint payment application being developed by Dez White.

Dash founded DD172, a media collective which encompasses: America Nu, a magazine; VNGRD79, a web design firm; BluRoc Records, a record label division. It also includes an art gallery.

In February 2018, Dash released the album Culture Vultures (Audio Experience) alongside Kenyatta Griggs. The album saw a series of interviews with Dash about his life, put against a musical backdrop; subjects Dash discussed include his relationships with Jay Z and Aaliyah, his mother's death, and being diabetic. A book was also released, coinciding with the audio commentary.

On June 21, 2025, Dash's rock group The Black Guns released the album 365, in collaboration with rapper Freeway. Of the release, Dash stated, " I’m usually a businessman, but I wanted to be an artist and I wanted to pay homage to real rock and roll".

Personal life

Dash met R&B singer Aaliyah in New York City in the summer of 2000 through his accountant, and dated her until her death on August 25, 2001, in a plane crash in The Bahamas. Though they were not formally engaged, in interviews given after Aaliyah's death, Dash stated that the couple had planned to marry.

In 2005, Dash married fashion designer Rachel Roy, whom he had dated prior to his relationship with Aaliyah. They met when she was working as an intern at Rocawear. Together they have two daughters, Ava Dash (born December 7, 1999) and Tallulah Dash (born May 14, 2008). Following their divorce in 2009, they had a bitter custody battle.

Dash has a son, Dame "Boogie" Dash (born November 28, 1991), with former girlfriend Linda Williams. Boogie stars in the reality television show Growing Up Hip Hop. He also has another son, Lucky, born in 2004 with Cindy Morales.

Dash and his fiancée Raquel Horn have a son, Dusko Dash, born on November 14, 2020.

Dash is a first cousin of the actress Stacey Dash.

On September 5, 2025, he announced that he had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with over $25 million in debt.

Legal issues

In 2012, rapper Curren$y sued Dash for $1.5 million for releasing his music without permission. Dash's attorney released a statement that Dash released the music on fair grounds.

In 2014, Dash was ordered to pay Linda Williams, the mother of his son Boogie, $50,000 for causing her to be prosecuted on harassment charges in 2009.

In April 2015, Dash's ex-wife, Rachel Roy, accused him of domestic abuse and filed for a restraining order. Roy was awarded sole custody of their daughters. The court granted Roy and her daughters with a three-year restraining order against Dash. Days later, Dash filed a $2.5 million claim against Roy in asserted damage for allegedly mishandling their joint fashion business, Royale Etenia.

In 2018, Dash settled a suit he filed against director Lee Daniels requesting $5 million to recoup a $2 million investment with interest. Lee had received financial support from Dash early in his career, and reportedly failed to repay him despite his subsequent success.

In November 2019, Dash was arrested for failing to pay more than $400,000 in child support. Dash was in New York City for an unrelated Federal Court appearance when he was arrested for two warrants. The first warrant was issued in April 2015 in the Supreme Court in New York County case of Cindy Morales; he owed $62,553 since 2012. The second warrant was issued in March 2019 in the Bronx Family Court case of Rachel Roy. He was ordered to pay her $341,991 and $25,000 for attorney fees in 2015. Dash reportedly paid more than $1 million to be released.

On September 4, 2025, Dash filed for bankruptcy; the petition showed he owed a total of $25,303,049.47 to as many as 49 creditors, with a majority of that (about $19.1 million) owed to the government in the form of taxes and other debts. He also owes nearly $648,000 in domestic support obligations to his ex-wife Rachel Roy, and his ex-girlfriend Cindy Morales.

References

References

1. "7 Facts About Aaliyah: Get The Scoop Before You Watch the Lifetime Movie".
2. Martin Berrios. (February 11, 2021). "Boss Moves: Damon Dash Proposes To Long-Time Wifey For Lifey Raquel Horn". Hip Hop Wired.
3. Kyle Eustice. (February 10, 2021). "VETERAN HIP HOP EXEC DAME DASH PROPOSES TO NEWBORN SON'S MOTHER AHEAD OF STUDIO RELAUNCH". [[HipHopDX]].
4. Baron, Zach. (January 13, 2010). "Welcome to Damon Dash's DD172, New York's Last Line of Defense Against "Wack World"". Village Voice, LLC.
5. Fraser, George C.. (May 5, 2009). "Success Runs in Our Race". Harper Collins.
6. "Dash to Solo Success for Hip Hop Mogul". [[CNN]].
7. Adams, Mary Elizabeth. (February 4, 2021). "Dame Dash: "Diabetes Makes Me a Superhero"". One Drop.
8. (January 1, 2001). "New Entrepreneurs".
9. Konigsberg, Eric. (June 19, 2006). "Why Damon Dash Hates Mondays". [[New York (magazine).
10. Hutcherson, Lori. (April 19, 2014). "Invisible Apps Creator Dez White and GirlCodeLA".
11. Paine, Jake. (2011-09-27). "Dame Dash Explains BluRoc Mission, Upholding Lifestyle In Independence, And Being A Candidate To Run Death Row Records".
12. "Welcome to Damon Dash's DD172, New York's Last Line of Defense Against "Wack World" - New York Music - Sound of the City".
13. (February 13, 2018). "Culture Vultures (Audio Experience)".
14. (13 February 2018). "Damon Dash, Kenyatta Griggs - Culture Vultures (Audio Experience)".
15. Gee, Andre. (August 14, 2018). "Is it Time to Shift the Villain Narrative Surrounding Dame Dash?".
16. Alston, Trey. (June 22, 2025). "Dame Dash and Fiancée Celebrate His New Album With TikTok Trend: 'Say Something Nice'".
17. Paul, Bryson. (June 22, 2025). "Dame Dash & Fiancée Join The Hipsters To Promote His New Album, Perform A TikTok Routine".
18. Warner, Jennifer. (2014). "Aaliyah: A Biography". BookCaps Study Guides.
19. "Damon Dash Talks Losing Aaliyah: 'Nothing Prepares You for That'".
20. [http://hellobeautiful.com/2012/08/25/aaliyah-damon-dash-relationship-pictures-rememberance/ Damon Dash Remembers Aaliyah: "Every Time I Was With Her, I Felt It Was The Place To Be"] {{Webarchive. link. (December 17, 2013 August 25, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2019)
21. Calloway, Sway. (August 28, 2001). "Damon Dash Says Every Day with Aaliyah Was Special". [[MTV News]].
22. Tracy, Brianne. (November 21, 2019). "Damon Dash Arrested for Unpaid Child Support, Released After Paying More Than $1 Million: Report".
23. Gardner, David. (April 3, 2015). "Rachel Roy, Damon Dash's Ex-Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know".
24. Muhammad, Latifah. (August 31, 2017). "EXCLUSIVE: Boogie Dash Needs a 'Wake-Up Call' in 'Growing Up Hip Hop' Sneak Peek".
25. (January 19, 2005). "Damon Dash marries longtime girlfriend after getting groupie pregnant".
26. Rodriguez, Karla. (2020-11-15). "Dame Dash welcomes fifth child with fiancée Raquel Horn".
27. (2017-12-07). "Stacey Dash Threatens to Sue Cousin Dame Dash Over New Film".
28. DeSantis, Rachel. (2025-09-05). "Damon Dash Files for Bankruptcy as He Claims He's $25 Million in Debt and Has Just $4,350 to His Name".
29. Rezwan, Babu. (2025-09-05). "Dame Dash Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in 2025 With $25 Million in Debt".
30. RJ Cubarrubia. (March 27, 2012). "Currensy Sues Damon Dash for $1.5 Million; Dash's Attorney Responds".
31. Battan, Carrie. (March 27, 2012). "Damon Dash Responds to Curren$y Lawsuit".
32. Ross, Barbara. (March 17, 2014). "Former Roc-A-Fella Records chief Damon Dash has to pay out $50,000 to his ex-girlfriend for pushing to have her prosecuted for harassment".
33. Bacardi, Francesca. (April 21, 2015). "Rachel Roy Gets Custody of Kids and a Restraining Order Against Damon Dash—All the Details".
34. Gardner, Eriq Gardner. (April 24, 2015). "Damon Dash Strikes Back at Ex-Wife Rachel Roy With $2.5 Million Claims".
35. Nelson, Daryl. (2018-11-27). "Damon Dash and Lee Daniels Finally Settle Beef Over $2 Million Film Investment".
36. Boone, Keyaira. (November 28, 2018). "Lee Daniels Finally Settles $5M Lawsuit With Dame Dash".
37. Maisel, Todd. (November 20, 2019). "Producer/rapper Damon Dash arrested for failure to pay child support".
38. Ross, Barbara. (April 30, 2015). "Damon Dash hit with arrest warrant, ordered to pay $342K to ex-wife to avoid jail".
39. Del Rosario, Alexandra. (September 8, 2025). "Damon Dash files for bankruptcy, says he is $25 million in debt: ‘Let’s get to work’". The Los Angeles Times.