Dame Dash and Jay Z recently patched up their relationship, but there seems to be no hope for the Roc-A-Fella co-founder and Hov’s longtime business partner, Steve Stoute. After siding with 50 Cent and sharing his less-than-flattering thoughts about Stoute on Instagram in April, Dame took it even further in a recent interview where he called him a “culture robber.”
In an interview with Hip Hop Motivation, a video production company, Dame spoke on what he feels are the dysfunctions of black-owned companies.
Part of his reasoning was that “black people never help each other” and eventually he went on to point a finger directly at Steve Stoute.
“You know how many black people I tried to put together to make movies? There always be that one group – or because of Steve Stoute, or somebody that’s a “culture robber,” or doesn’t care about his culture – [that] would break that up,” Dame said.
“A guy like Steve Stoute would always take the people that are protecting the creative [and] eliminate them, so he could rob the creative,” he continued. “Just so he could get his money. Even if he kills that black man or that person’s brand.”
Stoute is the founder and CEO of the marketing firm Translation and the author of the “The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy.” He’s managed several a-list artists and help build brands around stars like Nas, Jay Z and Mary J. Blige.
Though Stoute is celebrated as a marketing guru, Dash is critical. “I was against him putting Jay’s whole name on a $40 dollar sneaker, just so they could get a check. How he had Jay doing Budweiser [commercials] with a confederate flag for a check. That’s not good for your brand,” he said. “I wouldn’t do it like that, that’s his approach. I don’t like that dude, because he doesn’t care about his culture and he’s a liar.”
Then there was also the time that he found Steve with lipstick and a wig on. “I also watched [the Notorious B.I.G.’s] crew put lipstick on him and a wig on him when he fell asleep,” Dame recalled. “That’s how I first seen him, so I couldn’t respect him from that day.”
Nadeska Alexis
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