Damon Dash has officially opened an auction for his third of Roc-A-Fella Inc. and its lone asset of Jay-Z’s “Reasonable Doubt” record, and the starting offer is at $10 million.
It’s unclear what Jay-Z and his lawyers will try to do to block the auction, as they did when Dash first tried to sell his share in June.
He promised in June that he would include an NFT in the sale, named “It’s the Roc,” which “represents certificate of ownership” of the one-third part. The auction has two different closing dates: July 23 at 5 p.m. PT, according to his main page, or July 26 at midnight, according to the auction.
A judge earlier ruled that Dash had the right to sell his one-third share in Roc-A-Fella Inc., but not to sell a portion of the “Reasonable Doubt” record, in the often-confusing legal battles leading up to this new development. However, Dash’s conviction that Rock-A-Fella Inc. (a long-dormant firm not to be confused with Jay-subsequent Z’s Rock-A-Fella LLC) has only one asset is reflected in the text on the auction site, which refers to the company and the album interchangeably.
“Damon Dash is auctioning his 1/3 interest in Roc-A-Fella Inc, which owns ‘Reasonable Doubt,’ Jay-Z’s first album,” reads the copy on the auction site. “Own a moment in time when ‘Reasonable Doubt’ changed hip-hop culture. The album that influenced and touched so many lives.”
Dash said in a promotional video released before the auction began, “Reasonable Doubt’ set the trajectory for the future of Roc-A-Fella, represented everything we were doing at the moment. It was the voice of us. It’s still one of my favorite albums of all time.” In the video, Dash never mentions Jay-Z by name.
In addition, Dash discusses the fiduciary charms of the NFT-format involvement of an artist (“An artist still gets a piece of bread when he comes to resale and has no need to talk to a third party to collect”), and this NFT auction is the first of many in which he will take part.
In June, Judge John Cronan of Manhattan said, “Dash can’t sell what he doesn’t own. By attempting such a sale, Dash has converted a corporate asset and has breached his fiduciary duties.” Despite this, the Roc-A-Fella Inc. CEO claims that his NFT of “Reasonable Doubt,” which he claims is the company’s sole asset, will be auctioned to the highest bidder as soon as possible, citing loopholes in the original 1995 Roc-A-Fella contract that failed to identify the necessary bylaws and restrictions.
In addition to this lawsuit, Dash’s lawyers filed a summons in New York Supreme Court on July 13, alleging that Jay-Z transferred all streaming rights to “Reasonable Doubt” to S. Carter Enterprises LLC without the permission or agreement of the Roc-A-Fella Inc. partners. Dash filed a lawsuit alleging violation of fiduciary responsibility and seeking at least $1 million in damages.
When Variety asked Dash a few Q&As, he responded, “I don’t know why you are so mad at me wanting to sell my third that you lie on me in court. I didn’t get caught selling my third before this because I didn’t try to sell my third before this. I’m not trying to sell everybody else’s third. Just mine. … I’m gonna sell it without anybody bothering me.”
