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Damon Dash

Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty

Former Roc-A-Fella CEO, Damon Dash, does not seem to be making a good name for himself with a business colleague. Writer E.W. Brooks recently did an interview with theJasmineBRAND.com’s Mara The Hip-Hop Socialite and exposed her unpleasant experience with Dash on the movie project Mafietta.

Brooks wrote Mafietta as a crime thriller about a woman’s quest for love and power. In 2014, she partnered with a screenwriter, Alicia Allen, to turn the book into a short film. Once the script was written, she met Damon Dash at a seminar a year later. Though Brooks already had a film director lined up, Dash insisted he would direct if he was going to invest in the project.

Things started off smoothly with Dash casting reality TV personality London Charles (a.k.a Deelishis) and rapper Murda Mook to star in the film. However, once the project was completed, things went down hill. According to Brooks, Dash refused to sign a contract they had been negotiating for over a year and Dash continually took control of the project without Brooks’ input. Brooks explains, “I think he wanted me to just rely on his knowledge, but I wanted to understand his moves and I refused to give up my rights. He didn’t like that I had a mind of my own, or that I wasn’t afraid to use it.” Brooks continues, “Ultimately, our varying visions for the project caused an irreparable rift in the business relationship.”

In her interview with theJasmineBRAND.com, Brooks even revealed that she invested most of her own money and family’s money in the $49,000 project, while Damon invested nothing. He only provided the camera, which Brooks paid to have flown to set.

Check out Brooks’ full interview at theJasmineBRAND.com where she explains how two versions of Mafietta were made: one directed by Damon Dash and released on DameDashStudios.com (without Brooks’ consent) and the other directed by Jahmar Hill. Brooks plans to pursue legal actions against Dash in the future saying, “Damon has definitely taught me a lot – the main thing was ‘there is no emotion in business.’”

You can check out the trailers for both versions of Mafietta below.

Damon Dash Will Steal Your Film Idea, According To This Scorned Writer  was originally published on globalgrind.com