The planned auction of Dame Dash's stake in Roc-A-Fella Records has been delayed due to his unpaid child support and tax debts.
As reported by Billboard, the auction of Dash's 33.3 percent interest in the company, which was co-founded by Jay-Z and Kareem "Biggs" Burke, was originally scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 29. However, the deadline for the court-ordered auction has been pushed back to September 21 because New York City is seeking over $193,000 in unpaid child support. The state of New York is also seeking payment for the over $8.7 million he owes in back taxes.
The auction was ordered to pay the $823,000 judgment against Dame Dash, which movie producer Josh Webber won in a copyright infringement and defamation lawsuit in 2022. The sale of Dash's stake in Roc-A-Fella Inc. was to cover that judgment, but when news of the auction broke both New York City and New York sought money from the sale.
Originally, the minimum bid for a third of Roc-A-Fella Inc. was agreed as $1.2 million, but it will now be set at $3 million to cover the additional debts. The city of NYC will get first dibs on the money, followed by $1.7 million to the state of New York, and then the judgment owed to Webber. Anything beyond that will go to the state, and if there's anything left after that, Dash can claim the remaining funds.
"We look forward to upcoming court conference so that all interested parties can be heard and the court can decide who gets what, and in what priority from the forthcoming public auction," said Dame Dash's attorney, Natraj Bhushan, who added that Dash was "not privy to these discussions, had no input on the same, and disagrees with the priority given."
The sole asset of Roc-A-Fella Inc. is Hov's debut album Reasonable Doubt, while the rest of the record label's catalog was released by a separate entity, Roc-A-Fella. Both Jay-Z and Kareem Burke have expressed a desire to halt the auction, but a judge in the case has rejected their attempts to stop it.
Earlier this month, Dame Dash opened up about his current financial situation and explained how he got there.
"Somebody asked me how I got so broke. Investing in my dreams," Dame explained. "You know, when you’re investing in your dreams and you dream big, you’re always gonna be broke…or have a lot of shit. But I don’t have no money for nobody else. That's what you call broke. But that’s what it is."
He has also promised an "original" Roc-A-Fella chain to whoever bids $10 million or over on the rights to Roc-A-Fella Inc.