Dame Dash has reflected on the infamous feud between JAY-Z and Nas, revealing he had no concerns about the conflict escalating into violence. During an appearance on the "Moguls in the Making" podcast, the Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder discussed the nature of rap beefs and emphasized that he and JAY-Z were never worried about physical altercations with Nas in the early 2000s.
“There was no fear of us getting hurt when it came to Nas. I’m telling you right now, there was no fear of any violence when it came to that,” Dash stated. “There was no fear when it came to us of any battle that we had when it came to violence. We were never worried about that.”
Dash contrasted this with other notorious rap feuds, notably the fatal rivalry between Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., noting that today's rap conflicts sometimes still end in violence.
Reflecting on the JAY-Z and Nas beef, Dash admitted that Nas emerged victorious after the release of JAY-Z's diss track “Supa Ugly” backfired. On the "That’s F***ed Up" podcast last year, Dash criticized the track, explaining how Nas’s "Ether" was a much stronger response.
“Jay’s response was terrible,” he said. “The thing is, we had first hit him with the joint at Summer Jam that was kinda hard, the ‘Takeover.’ But when [Nas] came with the ‘Ether,’ I was kinda hype because he said my name. I was like, ‘I guess I’m in a rap record.’”
Dash also blamed Irv Gotti for the failed response, claiming Gotti’s involvement led to a poor outcome. He expressed frustration over JAY-Z’s apology to Nas for the explicit content of “Supa Ugly,” where JAY-Z rapped about his alleged affair with Nas’s baby mother, Carmen Bryan.
“When he apologized and shit, I was like, ‘No!’” Dash told "The CEO Show." “I was hitting him from the thing like, ‘Get off the radio! We looking crazy!’ And Irv did that shit. A Queens n-gga, he gave him — pause — the banana in the tailpipe. That was a Queens thing — he didn’t even see that. Yo Irv, stay out my business.”
JAY-Z’s apology came during an appearance on Hot 97 in December 2001, prompted by a call from his mother, Gloria Carter, who disapproved of the offensive lyrics. JAY-Z explained to Angie Martinez on air, “Mom put in a call and said, ‘That went too far.’ And she’s never, ever called me about music. So I was like ‘Okay, okay, okay. I’ll go shut it down.’”
He added, “Once again, I apologize. I felt like I didn’t think about women’s feelings or [Nas’ former girlfriend’s] feelings, or even my mom. It was really like, ‘Let me meet your level of disrespect with this level of disrespect.’”
