What Got Lost in the Dame Dash Tornado

Does a piece of "high-end" sushi become "bad sushi" just because too much soy sauce was poured onto it? No, it's simply a piece of high end sushi with too much soy sauce. The piece still contains awesome ingredients which simply have been devalued by their delivery/presentation.

Unfortunately, Damon's high-end argument has been disregarded by many because of his delivery. His delivery devalues the truths contained in his argument...however, these truths are still truths...empowering ones at that.

Souce of the Commotion

About a month ago, Damon Dash appeared on the much celebrated Breakfast Club radio show on NYC's 105.1. During his interview, he went on a very blunt and emotionally-charged campaign for professional independence and entrepreneurship, especially among people of color.

His arguments and delivery sparked amazing memes on Black Twitter and Instagram as well as some cool dialogue regarding race, entrepreneurship and strategies for economic mobility.

However, a lot was lost in the conversation regarding the reality of economic power in America as well as popular psychologies regarding money and power. In other words, the really sushi got thrown out with the soy sauce.

Background of the character and invididual, Damon Dash

Damon Dash was, at just the age of 25, a corporate king pin of hip-hop during the late 1990s. However, after the 2004 break-up of Roc-a-fella Records founders, Damon Dash's public profile and perception in mainstream/corporate music and news spiraled downwards.

This downward spiral included including bankruptsy, foreclosure, lawsuits and divource. But perception matters little to Damon.

During this time, Damon's attention and perspective turned inwards, pushing him to pursue complete economic independence and a quasi afro-centric approach to entrepreneurship and creativity.

Since his personal turmoil in the early 2000s, Dash has charged ahead with his own business endeavors, including an art gallery, a clothing line, a music group and a motor oil company. Learning from his 2003 sell of Roc-a-fella Records to Def Jam, Dame Dash has insisted on funding all of his ventures with his own money.

Lost in the Sauce

In addition to his new business ventures, Damon Dash has gone on the attack against old music industry foes whom he deems to be corporate and cultural opportunists (whom he's actually dubbed as "culture vultures").

Damon Dash, in this recent crusade, has been relentless in his pleas for more creatives of color to take their economic destinies into their own hands, especially by utilizing a direct-to-consumer relationship via digital communications and platforms.

While Dame is generally pretty concise and convincing, he lost much of him composure and smoothness during his time at The Breakfast Club.

Allowing his emotions to cloud his delivery, the public was battered with a valid but overly-simplistic rant, containing logic that was not only un-sound but disingenuous.

His exultation of creativity and collective investment came at the expense of his bashing of employed Americans. His refusal to refine his argument of economic self-determination led to a slew of oversimplistic and disingenuous remarks.

The tension he created injected energy into the minds of many, while pushing the masses of timid and disempowered workers futher from the truths and values of sustainable capital creation.

6 of the points that Dame usually sinks but failed to deliver, this time around:

1. Too many people capable of business ownership are emotionally dependent upon work which they, ironically, do not enjoy.

2. The people who cut the checks are the one's who call the shots (minus taxpayers...kinda sorta)

3. [African/Indigenous peoples in the Americas] must break the cycle of social and economic dependency

4. Dependency starts in one's mentality...if you want to be creative or invest, then just do it...

5. Intellectual collectivism, collaboration and digital tools are the best ways forward

6. Hustle for your last name not your first...in orther words, create and construct value for those in your family, community or society that will come after you are retired or long gone from this earth.

Check out Dame during one of his more articulate moments ...

Medvis Jackson is a web designer at Hindsite, curator at Kulchah and avid cricket fan. You can follow him @medvisjackson for his random thoughts

#damondash #music #perspectives