Damon Dash sent himself to boarding school because he wanted a better education than he was receiving at the time. As a result, his “street credibility” was initially questioned at the onset of his career. Dash received his official start in the music industry when he produced 90’s rap group, Original Flavor’s first album. One of the members of Original Flavor, Tone Hooker, later became a member of the Roc-A-Fella staff.
Damon has two children; Damon Dash II aka Boogie by a previous relationship and his daughter, Ava, by his wife, designer Rachel Roy. Both of his children are featured in State Property 2. Damon Dash is the man behind the acquisitions of Armadale Vodka and Pro Keds during his ownership of Roc-A-Fella Records. He used his artists and his label as a means of marketing his other brands. Dash was also responsible for Cam’ron having been signed to Roc-A-Fella. It was Cam’ron’s controversial signing to the label that signaled the beginning of the end of Damon’s relationship with longtime friend and business associate Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. Jay-Z has also publicly stated that he had no interest in being a part of the Hollywood movie scene, unlike Dash.
Since the sale of Roc-A-Fella Records to Def Jam, Damon started the Damon Dash Music Group. Nicole Wray, formerly of Missy Elliot’s Gold Mind label, was signed to DDMG. She recently left the label. Damon Dash sold his interest in Roc-A-Wear Clothing to Jay-Z and is no longer involved with the line. Dash was instrumental in creating the line’s image by hiring high profile friends/models such as Naomi Campbell and Omahyra Mota. Campbell still models for the brand. Dash stays very active as an actor, movie director, music producer and CEO.
Dame Dash recently released a new groundbreaking media platform America NuNetwork. The AMERICA NU NETWORK is a culturally immersive and all encompassing media platform. Access exclusively curated films, TV series, music, documentaries, and more. Engage with a supportive community and discover inspiring & resonating content. Free and premium subscriptions available.
Freeway, is an Hip Hop artist from North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is perhaps best known for his tenure on Roc-A-Fella Records and his affiliation with fellow East Coast rappers, Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel. Apart from his solo career, Freeway is also known as a member of the rap group, State Property. In 2009, Freeway was briefly signed to Cash Money Records.
Freeway was born Leslie Pridgen, on August 6, 1978. He adopted his moniker from the name of the infamous drug trafficker “Freeway” Rick Ross. Freeway began his career by participating in freestyle battles in his high school and met fellow Philadelphia native Beanie Sigel, while rapping on stage at a hometown nightclub. Not long after being signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, Sigel put in a word for Freeway, who made his first appearance on The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, on the track “1-900-Hustler” with Beanie, Jay-Z, and Memphis Bleek. After the appearance, Jay-Z signed him to a deal; he was featured on “Think it’s a Game”, also alongside Jay-Z, on Beanie’s second album The Reason. In 2001, he underwent a notorious freestyle battle with then-unsigned rapper Cassidy, hosted by Swizz Beatz and lost with a unanimous judges decision.
On February 25, 2003, Freeway released his debut album, Philadelphia Freeway. The album was produced primarily by Roc-A-Fella-affiliated beatsmiths Just Blaze, Bink!, and Kanye West and featured a large number of Roc-A-Fella rappers. Many of them also hailed from Philadelphia, and were soon compiled into the group State Property led by Freeway and Beanie Sigel. The album had two singles, the biggest hits of Freeway’s career thus far: “What We Do”, Featuring Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel, for which a video was released showcasing most of the Roc’s roster at the time, and “Flipside”, featuring State Property member Peedi Crakk; both records were produced by Just Blaze. The album also sold over 500,000 units.