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July 03, 2025, was a dark day for the music industry when the promising Princess of R&B passed away. As Aaliyah boarded a plane with eight other people in the Bahamas, little did she know that that was going to be her last day in this world. While the late singer did her own thing in the music industry, fans have been putting her up against Beyoncé, questioning how the former’s music would have impacted the latter’s career.
While the Internet is divided on the topic, there is one thing the two singers had in common apart from the R&B genre – Jay-Z. When Aaliyah was riding the waves of her well-deserved fame, every man in the industry wanted her by his side, including Jay-Z apparently. At least, that’s what her former lover Damon Dash has stated.
Was Jay-Z Into Aaliyah Before Marrying Beyoncé?
There isn’t much known about Aaliyah’s love life. Of course, there’s the horrifying marriage between her and R. Kelly which took place when she was only fifteen years old.
Later, she started dating Damon Dash,Jay-Z’s business partner at Roc-A-Fella, in 2000 and the couple were together until her tragic passing. In an interview withPage Six, Dash stated that Jay-Z“tried very hard”to impress Aaliyah, all while Dash himself was pining for her.
He stated that the two of them were“going hard”to win her heart, just like everyone else. In his words,
I did not mean to fall in love with Aaliyah, she was just that cool. But you know, we were both going hard … everybody was trying to get to Aaliyah — it was not just Jay.
He admitted that he didn’t know his business partner was also trying to“holler at her.”Dash said,“I did not know Jay was trying to holler at her, but then it just happened like that. He was trying, I was trying. Everybody was trying — he was going hard.”
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As for how he himself fell in love with the Queen of Urban Pop, he stated that the Aaliyah he fell for wasn’t the one people saw on their screens. He simply developed strong feelings for her after hanging out with her. As far as Dash is concerned, this version of her was“different than [the] Aaliyah on the TV screen.”Clearly, the co-founder of Roc-A-Fella was head over heels for the girl.
Did Damon Dash Steal Aaliyah from Jay-Z?
While Dash stated that he wasn’t aware of Jay-Z allegedly pining for Aaliyah’s heart, producer Choke No Joke tells a different story. In an interview withHYPE+, he was asked if Dash and Jay-Z drifted apart because of Aaliyah and he replied that was only“50 percent of it.”
He stated that“Jay was with her [Aaliyah] first”and that he had seen the two attend parties together. Then, Choke No Joke states that Dash“backdoored his way”in and shot his shot knowing that Jay-Z was interested in her.
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As per him, Jay-Z didn’t want to be public with Aaliyah and that’s the opening Dash saw and took the opportunity to get“in her head.”Choke No Joke also alleged that Dash came forBeyoncétoo which really pissed Jay-Z off.
Dame was trying to shoot at Beyoncé too. And that was it for Jay. Like, ‘Damn n*gga you took Aaliyah, like now you shooting at this one too? Like, I really like this one… I might even marry her.’
Luckily for Jay-Z, Dash couldn’t find an opportunity to pull apart the power couple of Hollywood. It has been almost a decade since Jay-Z and Beyoncé tied the knot and they have been going stronger than ever, despite theinfidelityon his part. As for Dash, he is currently engaged to movie producer Raquel Horn.
Mishkaat Khan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2257
A connoisseur of all things horror, fantasy, and the occasional chick flick, Mishkaat has been penning pieces for FandomWire since 2022. She started off as an intern and has worked her way up to a Senior Writer with over 2000 articles to her name.Outside of entertainment, she has also written well-researched medical content as a freelance writer and has experience in social media management.When not writing, you can find her relaxing with a romance novel and a tall glass of iced coffee in her hand or watching re-runs of ‘Supernatural’ and ‘The Office.’
