The Damon Dash Music Group

Damon Dash has formed The Damon Dash Music Group with Kareem Burke, the third founder of Roc-A-Fella.  Dash's new enterprise will both sign artists and oversee Dash's label partnerships.  Current partnerships include Dream Factory with 7 Aurelius and Militain Musica, a reggaeton label that will be launched with N.O.R.E.  Future plans include label partnerships with the Wu-Tang Clan and M.O.P./First Family.

This seems like big news for multiple reasons.  One is the reggaeton aspect with N.O.R.E.'s involvement.  Reggaeton's on the move and N.O.R.E.'s the lead man in the States, as I understand it.  The other is the idea of having an umbrella company for artist-oriented labels.  Hip hop artists have been particularly aggressive about wanting their own labels either when they sign with a major or after they chart.  It gives them ownership and a way to bring on other artists.  Forming a group focused on such endeavors by already established artists seems like a sharp move, though I'm not clear if this involves the artists' current labels or if these are entirely separate entities.  However, I am sure we'll be hearing more about this endeavor and the relationships will become clear in actual practice.