Jay-Z helped wipe out rapper DMX's $12M debt to Def Jam records despite their ego clash, reveal Ruff Ryders
Joaquin "Waah" Dean, Darin "Dee" Dean and Chivon Dean, collectively known as the founders of the Ruff Ryders, a hip-hop collective and record label, recently appeared on a recent episode of The Breakfast Club on August 11. During the course of their wide-ranging talk which lasted for an hour, the trio spoke about their label's storied history and some of their premier artists. They also spoke about a respected member of the Ruff Ryders family, the multi-platinum-selling rapper DMX, who released his major-label debut album 'It's Dark and Hell Is Hot' via Ruff Ryders and Def Jam Records in 1998. Initially, the Dean family, who are the uncles and aunt of the hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz, were merely the rapper DMX's management company and also had The LOX on their roster. But following DMX's chart success, they promptly started their own Ruff Ryders imprint.
DMX went on to record six hugely-successful albums with Ruff Ryders and even had a hit single called 'Ruff Ryders Anthem' on his debut album, which sold in excess of five million copies. But DMX later switched from Def Jam Records to Columbia Records (Sony Music) midway through the recording of his sixth album, 'Year of the Dog... Again' (2006), which resulted in numerous production delays. It was also his first album to debut at No 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, since all of his five previous albums had debuted at No 1 on the charts.
Speaking on The Breakfast Club, the Ruff Ryders founders revealed that it hadn't been smooth sailing between DMX and the hip-hop mogul, Jay-Z who became the president of Def Jam Records in 2004. Towards the end of the interview, (approx 54 minutes in) Chivon Dean admitted that both the rappers' egos had been the main reason for the clash, saying it was akin to a "whose piece is bigger" contest.Waah also stated, "They had that past history of competition, and that's the reason why it didn't happen." The professional rivalry between Hova and the Dog was already well known, with the rappers famously squaring against each other in an underground rap battle circa 1993. Both X and Jigga felt that they had won that same battle, so it was clear that friction was bound to occur once Jay-Z became DMX's label boss. As Dee stated, "In [DMX's] mind he was like, 'I won, I'm better than you.' So when Hov wound up being President at Def Jam he felt like he had to answer to him and X didn't like that." Dee also added, "He felt some type of way about Hov dictating his future."
Apparently DMX felt that Jay-Z wasn't using his position as Def Jam's president to give him all the support and materials he needed to complete his next album. Waah revealed, "What had happened was Jay-Z called X and told him 'The inmates have took over the prison.' And when your man Jay-Z got in position, X felt like he didn't honor him in the proper way and hold weight like he was supposed to... It wasn't a comfortable situation." But despite their beef, when DMX left Def Jam for Columbia Records, Jay-Z decided to write off the 12 million dollar debt that DMX owed his former label. “The good part about Def Jam, and I gotta give it to Hov, X was in debt over there. He probably owed about $12 million,” Dee Dean admitted. When DMX left Def Jam for Sony's Columbia Records, a compassionate Jay-Z “released him and wiped off the debt clean and let him go... He didn't have to pay nothing back." Waah also stated, "That was love."
Major props to Jay-Z for that one! He has a history of helping rappers out with debts. Back in 2018, Lil Wayne revealed that he had a hefty bill for unpaid taxes from 2008 and 2009, when Hova stepped in and helped him pay the reported 7.7 million dollar amount. “There’s people like Jay-Z. He helped me when I was really, really, really down.” Wayne said during a show in Chicago. “Jay don’t want me to tell nobody. That man helped me with my taxes. He’s a real friend, y’all. Shout out my [n-word] Jay!” If there's anything we've learned about Jay-Z,he definitely recognizes game and he also helps his famous rap mates when they need it the most, without feeling the need to publicize it too much. He's certainly earned our respect with that A-plus move worthy of J-Hova.