Dame Dash – Damon Dash says he felt “embarrassed” watching Jay-Z’s Roots Picnic solo set in Philadelphia, then went further—claiming Jay-Z’s breath “always used to stink” and even suggesting fans want a different version of the Brooklyn icon.
Dame Dash didn’t just react to Jay-Z’s Roots Picnic solo performance in Philadelphia—he sounded genuinely unsettled by it.
In a recent conversation with The Art of Dialogue, Damon Dash described watching Jay-Z take the stage and said he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was hard to see his former business partner performing at that point in his career. Dash went as far as admitting he felt “embarrassed” for him.
“It must be embarrassing for him to now have to be on that stage, not the same version of himself, and still have to work at that age because he has to,” Damon Dash said.
The critique didn’t stop with the show. Dash also brought up an old, intensely personal gripe he claims he’s held onto from their history—specifically, Jay-Z’s breath.
“Jay’s breath always used to stink. And you know why, because for some reason — don’t you hate when n*ggas got bad breath and chew Big Red [gum.] It’s just cinnamon doo-doo. Nobody wants to smell that,” Dash said.
In the days since, the comments have spread widely, with plenty of fans taking turns dissecting the shade—especially around Dash’s decision to mock Jay-Z’s appearance as well.
Dash suggested viewers no longer want to see this version of Jay-Z and joked about launching his own “Make Jay Great Again” campaign. In that pitch. he urged Jay-Z to ditch his natural hair. get a Caesar cut. throw on a Yankees cap. and return to the look Dash believes fans remember most. He also poked fun at Jay-Z’s afro. saying the hairstyle was so distracting he could barely focus on the performance.
Other viewers pushed back on the framing. Many noted the irony of Dash’s posture, citing his own well-documented financial struggles.
And as the back-and-forth heated up. some fans also pointed to a possible overlap between the timing of the criticism and Jay-Z’s lyrics during the Roots Picnic set. They zeroed in on a line in which Jay-Z rapped about a “Chatty Patty” who was “down on his luck again. ” with multiple listeners interpreting it as a direct shot at Dame Dash.
Whether Jay-Z intended the reference or not, Dame Dash’s latest comments turned the Roots Picnic moment into something louder than a performance review—pushing their ongoing saga further into the public spotlight.
Dame Dash Jay-Z Roots Picnic Philadelphia Damon Dash The Art of Dialogue social media reaction Big Red gum Make Jay Great Again
Wait so he was roasted for… breath?? Like Big Red solves everything??
Dame Dash is just embarrassing himself at this point. Jay-Z performing is performing. And mocking someone’s hair like that is wild like????
I mean idk if the breath thing is real but the timing with that “Chatty Patty” line is kinda sus. Like that’s literally the exact vibe, down on his luck again… sounds like him. But also Dash can’t even talk bc he’s always broke in the headlines so who cares.
“Make Jay Great Again”?? That alone is cringe. And the Caesar cut/Yankees cap suggestion is so random like why is that even the takeaway from a concert. Also how you gonna say fans want the “old Jay” when folks change as they age… unless he’s saying Jay should wear a wig? I got confused reading that part.