The Beat Goes On
With each venture, this hip-hop impresario keeps his rhythm.
Vital stats: Damon Dash, 34
Company:Dash Ventures
2005 projected sales: Clothing line Rocawear alone makes
$350 million annually.
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Music prodigies: Dash laid the foundation for his empire
a decade ago when he, burgeoning rapper Jay-Z and Kareem
"Biggs" Burke decided to create Roc-A-Fella Records after
other record companies wouldn't give Jay-Z a chance.
Roc-A-Fella's reputation as being bigger and better than the
majors, as well as its support for nontraditional artists and
music, helped the label grow a roster of rap all-stars. (The
partners sold Roc-A-Fella to Island Def Jam in late 2004.)
Clear intentions: Following up with hip-hop label
Rocawear,
Dash launched all subsequent ventures--boxing promotion, films, an
urban lifestyle magazine, watches, premium vodka and a line of MP3
players, to name a few--with quality in mind. Why such
diversification? "We don't want to be known as just being
good [in the urban market]," Dash explains. "We want to
be good, period--to be accessible to everybody."
Mix master: Dash's days growing up in New York
City's Harlem neighborhood and going to a private school
downtown taught him how to travel in both circles; now he migrates
effortlessly between hip-hop studios and big-business boardrooms.
"I learned honor, integrity and survival on the street. Once
you apply that in the corporate world, you're
unstoppable."
Positive reinforcement: "Everything I've tried
to do, no one wanted to give me the opportunity to do, so I had to
do it my own way," Dash says. His advice for up-and-coming
rule breakers: "Don't accept no for an answer. The more
success you have, the more problems will come your way--be prepared
for that. And be as honest as possible. I don't believe a
negative individual can have the success he wants and be happy with
it."