DAMON DASH - JAY-Z SPEAKS OUT OVER ROC-A-FELLA SPLIT

JAY-Z SPEAKS OUT OVER ROC-A-FELLA SPLIT

Rap mogul SHAWN 'JAY-Z' CARTER refuses to take the blame for the break-up of rap label Roc-A-Fella Records, insisting every partner contributed to the company's demise. Carter co-founded the business 1995 with DAMON DASH and KAREEM 'BIGGS' BURKE, but shocked the hip-hop world nearly 10 years later (05) when he became president of Def Jam Records - the company which had just bought out Dash's interest in the Roc-A-Fella label. But Carter denies any underhand dealings, insisting, "People rewrite history. If they realised that, two years before, (Def Jam) offered me f**king $20 million to cut them out, and I didn't do it. You're friends. You ain't supposed to do that. I said no. You know, I couldn't live. He adds of the company, "It wasn't what it once was, in my eyes. You know, maybe I contributed to it. We all contributed. Maybe being 34, as opposed to being 26, contributed to it. It wasn't the same thing."