Dame Dash credits the artist formerly known as Kanye West’s many artistic successes, at least in part, to an acute sense of hustle.
In a recent interview for The TFU Podcast, the Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder was asked to detail what he first saw in Ye, who, as anyone reading this is surely already aware, first broke through as a producer before becoming a global superstar. Ye’s transition from behind-the-boards virtuoso to full-fledged household name wasn’t an easy one, as he faced well-documented pushback on his path to the mic.
“He just was hustling,” Dame recalled. “Like, you know, if somebody shows up, I’m going to show up. I didn’t necessarily think he was so talented like that. … I didn’t think he could rap. I thought he made good beats.”
Dame then brought up “Champions,” a 2002 track featuring production and vocals from Ye, echoing remarks he previously made to Complex about how it was originally intended to be a “big record” for Just Blaze instead.
“He had good beats, but he showed up,” Dame said. “For example, ‘We Are the Champions’ was the record that kind of broke him and I produced that with him. I got the sample and I was giving that sample to Just Blaze. Had Just Blaze done what I asked him to do and gave me the respect, that might have been a big record for [Just Blaze]. It was the first time Queen had ever cleared a sample. Just Blaze didn't do it. After a while, I was like, ‘Yo.’ And I just said, ‘Kanye, you do it.’ He did it that day.”
As Dame sees it now, Ye was able to reap “the benefits” of the situation “based on his respect for me.” The 24-time Grammy winner’s 2002 car crash, Dame added, proved the power of his work ethic even more.
“I didn't think anything was so special about Kanye until he broke his jaw,” Dame recalled. “I saw that he was still active and and he was still proactive. He turned something that could have put him out of business into something that put him into business, and I didn't have to do it. I'm more into a person's hustle and respect, ‘cause anyone could be good at anything if they practice enough.”
Through that experience, in Dame’s eyes, Ye proved himself to not be “a quitter,” meaning he also wasn’t afraid to publicly fail on the way to greater successes in the future.
“He could fail and make it a learning experience,” Dame said, pointing to Ye’s earlier fashion work as an example.
Elsewhere, Dame shared his thoughts on Ye’s struggles with bipolar disorder, which again became a public discussion topic earlier this year when the Bully artist spoke about the topic at length in a full-page Wall Street Journal ad.
“Bipolar disorder comes with its own defense system: denial,” Ye wrote in the letter. “When you’re manic, you don’t think you’re sick. You think everyone else is overreacting. You feel like you’re seeing the world more clearly than ever, when in reality you’re losing your grip entirely.”
See the full Dame conversation below.
Bully, Ye’s new album, is currently expected to be released in March after a number of delays.