JAY-Z cleared Ruff Ryders’ $12 million debt at Def Jam.
Real friends, how many of us. Despite being at odds at the time, JAY-Z let DMX walk away from his Def Jam contract without paying a penny.
During a recent interview with The Breakfast Club, Ruff Ryders founders Waah, Dee and Chivon Dean reveal what led to DMX’s departure from Def Jam records.
“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 and hold weight like he was supposed to,” Darrin “Dee” Dean said.
Dee adds The Yonkers rapper wasn’t keen on answering to Hov: “He felt some type of way about Hov dictating his future.”
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X eventually left the label and released his sixth studio album Year Of The Dog… Again on Columbia Records in 2006. Dean revealed Hov helped DMX clear his over $10 million debt to help facilitate his transition to the Sony owned-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,” he said. “I respect him on that because he let him go clean with nothing.”
This isn’t the first time Jay is coming through for his friends/colleagues. Lil Wayne revealed the Brooklyn legend helped him pay off his $7.72 million tax bill. “There’s people like JAY-Z. He helped me when I was really, really, really down. Really, really, really down,” Weezy said during a Chicago show. “Jay don’t want me to tell nobody. That man helped me with my taxes. He’s a real friend, y’all.”
You can watch the full interview below.