Dame Dash Reflects on His Feud with 2Pac, Jay-Z’s Relationship with Beyoncé, and the End of Their Friendship

Dame Dash, co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, recently opened up about his experiences during one of the most tumultuous times in hip-hop history—the beef between Jay-Z and 2Pac.

In a candid interview, Dash discussed his reaction when 2Pac began dissing them, Jay-Z’s intentions regarding his relationship with Beyoncé, and how his own friendship with Jay-Z eventually came to an end.

When asked about his reaction to 2Pac’s disses, Dame Dash revealed that at the time, they were ready to confront the situation head-on. He explained, “We were ready to get at it, we kind of wanted to let go like it… we were beefing.”

Dash noted that their crew had interacted aggressively with many hip-hop artists at different points, but they felt invincible at the time. He continued, saying they immediately took action after 2Pac’s diss, with the two sides engaging in a lyrical back-and-forth. However, Dash also emphasized that despite the intense tension, they never took things to the point of violence.

He explained that for him, rap was always about battling lyrically, not risking lives. “Once you’re on wax, saying anything, it’s over. There’s no crime,” Dash said, pointing out how ridiculous it seemed to him that people were getting killed over lyrics.

“I would never get to risking my freedom or taking somebody’s life over talk,” he added, expressing how perplexing it was that hip-hop was the only genre where artists would harm each other over a disagreement expressed through music.

Dash made it clear that he viewed beefs as something that should be settled in the studio, not with violence. “It’s just about words. Why would you risk your life or your freedom for a song?” Dash asked.

He compared rap battles to those in other genres, questioning why hip-hop was the only culture where things escalated to violence. He also highlighted how the culture of division and confrontation might appear to outsiders.

When it came to confronting 2Pac in person, Dash explained that they were not looking to escalate the conflict but rather to understand what the issue was.

He recalled an instance when they tried to approach 2Pac at the MTV Music Awards, a few days before he was shot in Las Vegas. Dash stated that he and Jay-Z simply wanted to speak to 2Pac and clear the air—asking him what the problem was and whether the tension was just part of the rap game or something more personal.

Dash also opened up about Jay-Z’s decision to remake 2Pac’s hit song “Me and My Girlfriend.” He expressed confusion over the move, given that Jay-Z and 2Pac were not on good terms at the time. Dash speculated that Jay-Z’s decision to remake the track was more about introducing his own relationship with Beyoncé to the world. “That was his introduction that he wanted everybody to know that H girl was his girlfriend,” Dash commented.

However, Dash revealed that by the time the song was released, their friendship had already begun to deteriorate. He mentioned that their relationship had fallen apart when Beyoncé came into the picture, saying, “Once H girl got in the picture, our relationship evaporated.”

Dash also mentioned that Jay-Z and Biggie Smalls had not spoken for nearly two years before this, indicating that the tension had already been building for quite some time.

Reflecting on the end of his friendship with Jay-Z, Dash emphasized that after the fallout, he had no interest in what Jay-Z was doing or saying anymore. He stated that after the release of The Blueprint, he lost interest in Jay-Z’s subsequent work, including The Black Album. “I wasn’t around him that much after that,” Dash said. “Our friendship was over.”

For Dash, the core of their split was the sense that Jay-Z had moved on from their partnership. “Once our friendship was over, there wasn’t any more friendship to talk about,” Dash concluded.

Dame Dash’s reflections paint a vivid picture of the inner workings of Roc-A-Fella Records during a volatile time in hip-hop. His candid take on the 2Pac feud and the end of his friendship with Jay-Z sheds light on the pressures and tensions that come with fame, loyalty, and the business side of the music industry.