The late songstress Aaliyah was highly sought after in Hollywood at the height of her career in the early 2000s, and according to music executive Damon Dash, she was highly pursued romantically, too.
In a recent interview with That’s F***ed Up podcast, the 52-year-old Harlem native divulged that he and Jay-Z competed for her attention, to which Dash ultimately won.
“I didn’t look at her like that because she was like a tomboy.” Dash began. “She was little to me. But then one time, I guess we had the same bookkeeper, and I walked past… every time I saw her, she looked different. She had different looks every time and I was like, ‘Who the fu*k is that?’”
The Roc-A-Fella co-founder continued: “I just threw my A-game. And then, you know, I guess Jay was trying to get at her as well, and I didn’t know. It got brought up and I was like, ‘Fu*k both of y’all.’ But it never worked out for them, and we were both trying to get at her. And I kind of eased up, but then we ran into each other. It’s a long story.”
He further admitted that many friends of his in the business were interested in Aaliyah as well, but it was known that she wasn’t interested in being in a serious relationship with anyone.
“Everybody was getting at Aaliyah, bro,” Dash said. “She’ll go to dinner with a ni**a but she wasn’t gonna just be smashing. So that was the big deal, like, who can get with Aaliyah?”
The Champions artist also admitted that Jay-Z was “obviously” bitter once it became public that he was dating Aaliyah.
“Yeah, he felt a way. But everybody knows that sh*t. They be trying to act like he was really fu*king with her. Nah, he was sending flowers and doing all that sh*t, he was courting her. So we were both going hard and we ended up in the same house for 4th of July.”
He added: “It was, like, one day [Aaliyah] might lean towards him then it’ll lean towards me. But I was just on fire that week. Everything I was saying was funny, you know what I’m saying? I remember coming downstairs and [Jay] was like… [sigh]. ‘Cause like, you know, his friends were laughing at him and sh*t.”
Born Aaliyah Dana Haughton, the Rock the Boat megastar died tragically in a plane crash while leaving the Bahamas from a video shoot. She was 22. She was one of nine passengers who died in the crash due to the aircraft carrying more weight than it could hold. She would end up being one of hip hop and R&B’s most influential legacies, cementing a new wave of music inspired by her eclectic sound.
Throughout her career, she won numerous awards, including three American Music Awards, two MTV VMAs, and five Grammy nominations.
