Who is Damon Dash? Roc-A-Fella CEO won't stop Kanye West from imploding as rapper is 'cool and happy'
Shortly after Kanye West holed himself up in his ranch in Wyoming after writing a series of disturbing tweets, his friend Damon Dash rushed to the rapper's side to offer him support. West sparked fears over his mental health following a public breakdown during his first presidential campaign rally in South Carolina, where he revealed personal information about his family life, which left his wife, Kim Kardashian "shocked".
West's strange behavior continued this week when he took to Twitter to write unsettling tweets, including one of him wanting to divorce Kim.
Away from his wife and children, Kanye on Wednesday, July 22, was spotted shopping at a Walmart with Dash, who denied claims that the rapper is "crazy" and slammed Kim for suggesting he was mentally ill. Kim, on Tuesday, opened up about the rapper's bipolar disorder and had said that the family was "powerless." Amidst mounting concern over West's behavior, there has been increasing scrutiny over who Dash is and why is he not assisting the rapper and urging him to seek professional help.
Damon Anthony Dash, an American entrepreneur, is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke. His relationship with Jay-Z, however, soured after the pair disagreed over certain business decisions, like signing Cam’ron to their label. Damon, known as Dame among friends, also wanted to foray into the movie business. Dash, who eventually started the Damon Dash Music Group, is also a record executive, film producer, director, and actor and is a long-time friend of West. Dash, also he executive producer of Growing Up Hip Hop, met and became friends with Kanye by moving in the same social circles and through their years in the music business.
The entrepreneur, after visiting Kanye on Wednesday, had posted a picture of them together on his Instagram, with a caption: "We good." He also mentioned that West was "cool and happy".
Dash and West were also pictured visiting a bank together and then later browsing clothes in a Walmart store. After the rapper's Twitter meltdown this week, Dash had jumped to his friend's defense in an interview with Page Six, saying: "People think he lost his mind just because he cried. The way he lost his mind and jumped on a jet and then jumped off the jet to come back to his 40,000-acre ranch? Yeah, I'd like to lose my mind like that."
Several social media users called out Dash and other friends of West for not getting him professional health at this time. One Twitter user wrote: "These so-called friends of Kanye, why they not trying to get him some help. I know so damn well they can see he's not well. What kinda friends is this, we should of been looking at these ni**as getting Kanye into a hospital as saying we gotchoo! my brother [sic]."
While another wrote, suggesting that Dash was in a financial crunch and had reached out to West with an ulterior motive: "And 'Damon Dash' is trying to make a "dash" with some of Kanye's $$$. Dash is definitely a "yes" man for Kanye. Dash is broke as hell, money problems forever & looking to free up Kanye's wallet of some. These broke dudes are NOT Kanye's friends. Just 'hangers on' using Ye." A third person replied to the tweet, writing: "If something happens to Kanye I will blame Damon Dash. Kanye don’t need yes people right now. He needs help!!"
The music mogul, during his Page Six interview, had also appeared to take a swipe at Kim, dismissing her concern over her husband's mental health.
"People watched the rally and think he's crazy, but that's how the average person thinks," Dash said defending West. "Everyone that listens to him [who thinks] he's crazy is not a billionaire. But some reason Elon Musk doesn't think he's crazy. I don't think he's crazy. Billionaires don't think it's crazy because he talks that billi talk. And most people don't talk that talk. He speaks like the general to people that are generally soldiers."
"There are definitely people around him that love him and he's going to be all right. We are praying, we are working. People think like we are in an insane asylum (but) we got an album coming out," he added. While addressing Kim's concern about Kanye's mental health, he said: "I don't give a f*** about none of that. I see him – he's cool. I don't give a f*** what they say. He's a little tired but he's happy. Why are you talking about (his mental health)? He's in a big room with 40 different companies. Ideas development. It's a laboratory going on over here. Just think of Willy Wonka," the entrepreneur said.