A few weeks ago, a bizarre news story about a supposed “Reasonable Doubt” NFT confused the world. Something similar happens each time former partners Jay-Z and Dame Dash collide. On this occasion, the subject at hand was Jay-Z’s first album, the classic “Reasonable Doubt.” Apparently, Dash planned to sell an NFT of the album and a judge blocked it. However, something didn’t smell right about the whole situation.
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The album is the property of the also classic label Roc-A-Fella Records, funded in 1995 by Jay-Z, Dame Dash, and Biggs Burke. Even though the company is on hiatus, each of them owns a third of it. This fact is going to be important down the line.
How Did We Get Here And Who Owns What?
However, we must retrace our steps first. When news about the supposed NFT broke, Bitcoinist reported the following:
Legendary hip-hop record label Roc-A-Fella has filed a lawsuit against artist Dame Dash for attempting to auction off Jay-Z album ‘Reasonable Doubt’ as a non-fungible token. Dame Dash has reportedly responded in a statement to TMZ that he is not attempting to sell the Jay-Z album, but rather just his share in Roc-A-Fella.
Days later, Jay-Z announced his first NFT. An illustration based on the “Reasonable Doubt” cover. Bitcoinist reported:
According to Sotheby’s tweet, the one-of-one ‘Heir to the Throne’ “comments on and recontextualizes the album cover’s iconic portrait of the legendary artist and entrepreneur”. The NFT was designed by the in-demand, Brooklyn-based digital artist Derrick Adams. The piece will be both Jay’s and Derrick’s first public NFT.
The piece sold for $138,600. Did it benefit from the lawsuit controversy?
What’s The Deal With The Reasonable Doubt NFT? Dame Dash Explains
While Jay-Z monopolized the mainstream media’s headlines, his ex-partner went to the Social Proof podcast. A small, independent show. “What I was doing was selling my part of Rock-A-Fella Inc. Which I can do,” Dash clarifies. And accuses Jay-Z’s team, “They blatantly lied to the judge just for a headline, and a narrative.”
Before that, he spoke about his relationship with Jay-Z, “If I own something that he owns, he’s not going to promote it. At all.” Jay sabotaged every deal that he could and recently offered him $1.5M for his interest in the album. An offer Dame Dash considers an insult. The executive takes it in stride and with humor, though, “So the NFT to me was like, this is a perfect alternative because you can sell anything. And also give the 360 experience of what it is to have to deal with these guys.”
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Dame Dash’s Take On The Actual Lie
According to Dash, Jay-Z’s team found out about his plans with the SuperFarm NFT platform:
“… and because there’s nothing they can do about it, they accused me of minting the whole album. They accused me of soliciting that I’m going to sell the whole album. Or the copyright. And that’s never was what I was doing. (They did it) solely just so one else would want to buy it. So it devalued it.
After that, he makes an excellent point, “If I mint something that means it’s already on the blockchain. You all know I’m not. How are you going to double down on that?” Dame Dash clarifies that Jay-Z’s team didn’t block the sale, they just got a Temporary Restraining Order. Both parties already went to court and they’re figuring out the verbiage of the deal.
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Dash is determined to sell his part of Rock-A-Fella, “I’m selling a NFT of a picture that will represent that you own a third.”
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