Simply put, Dame Dash and Freeway have been busy. In 2023, they announced their new album, 365, a hybrid rap and rock offering that the duo have been introducing to the masses through a series of ongoing shows around the country. They’ve also been pouring into different business that pushed them into a variety of different spaces including the technology and education industries — all while hurdling over the many obstacles before them. To watch the longtime collaborators and Hip Hop icons continue to deliver is essentially a masterclass in perseverance and dedication to an art form that thrives 50 years later and counting.
REVOLT spoke with the Roc-A-Fella icons about 365, Dash’s America Nu network, Freeway’s engineering program at OIC Philadelphia, and much more. Check out what they’ve been up to below.
We see how hard you guys have been working with your new venture, especially with your recent travels.
Dame Dash: You know, we started with the fundamentals ’cause it’s rock and roll and we want to introduce it right. So, we had to start from like, you know, doing small venues. Get that intimate feeling. You know, that promo tour feeling, kinda. So we just went from Florida to Indianapolis, got right in the car and went right over to Detroit. So, I feel like [it’s] the old Roc-A-Fella days. Real rock and roll. I feel like a real rock star right now.
I remember you called the style of music you two were making ‘rock soul’ in a previous interview.
Dash: Yeah. You’re right. I called it rock soul. Something new. And it was important to me if I’m going to, you know, I have my own television network. America Nu, where we broadcast live and all that. It’s a new way of approaching things. Everything new. So, we’re going to re-approach music. I wanted to approach it by establishing the fundamentals, and having respect for the art, and using live instruments, and actually going where there’s traditionally no Hip Hop, and showing them a different way, and a different approach, and understanding that performing over a track is like performing in black and white, and once you get in that spaceship, and get with the band, and get that rhythm, and start surfing… That’s how you get paid and have a sustainable career without a hit record on the radio.
You have to know how to route your own tour, do your own shows, and establish yourself. Don’t wait to get hired. And also, [create] a curriculum on how to do an album in five days with some legends, and people that have actually been through some serious challenges, and still come up on top just because they have a dream, and aren’t scared to do new things and challenge yourselves.
[With] Freeway, we connected through education and doing the right thing, plus [both of us were] going through things. I wanted to do a project with him, you know what I mean? And we went and did it. And my man, Tash [Neal]. I don’t say things lightly — that’s the best guitar player breathing right now. And what happens is, when we don’t understand other worlds, we don’t know who’s rolling another worlds, who’s the best in other worlds, you know? So in his world, he’s very highly regarded and plays with legends like Slash… But he’s one of us. No disrespect to the Black guitar players that are showcased, but he’s the best. Not for being black or white.
