Memphis Bleek spoke about the fallout between Dame Dash and Jay-Z and the breakup of Roc-A-Fella on the latest episode of Drink Champs.
Bleek admitted he foresaw the Roc-A-Fella era coming to an end, revealing that Jay-Z once told him "the scissors...they coming," in reference to an impending split. The 45-year-old rapper also accused Beanie Sigel and Freeway of trying to play both sides with Dame and Jay, while also reassuring co-host N.O.R.E. that Bleek and his former labelmates are currently on good terms.
Bleek claimed he had solo and group conversations with a number of Roc-A-Fella artists where he warned them to have their affairs in order because the label was going to sink with Jay-Z's departure.
"Y'all better hope y'all got a retirement plan," Bleek recalled at the 52:42 mark. "Put this shit together. You see him [Jay-Z], he getting out of here. He telling y'all, Black Album, fade to black, it's over."
Bleek added that he would've kept the crew intact, but everyone else sided with Dame because he had "connections," ignoring the fact that Jay had the "bag" and "the bag bring the connections."
Bleek said the final straw between Dame and Jay-Z happened on the set of the "Change Clothes" music video when the former threatened to kick him off the label.
"[Dame] was basically telling n****s, 'Yeah, we gonna fix this... and I'm looking at him like, 'Bro, this shit over,'" Bleek said at the 57:10 mark above. "And he looked at me and said, 'You always going against everything I say, like you got a problem here. If you don't wanna be with Roc-A-Fella, I'll give you your walking papers.'"
Bleek told Dame in that moment that he didn't have the power to make that decision, insisting the boss in the group was Jay-Z, who caught wind of the incident that marked the beginning of the end for Roc-A-Fella.
In response to N.O.R.E. wondering if the late Aaliyah played a part in their split, Bleek said he had no knowledge of that situation.
During his Drink Champs appearance, Bleek also spoke about not being allowed to look Michael Jackson in the eyes when he showed up at Summer Jam 2001, and drawing the ire of Jay-Z for turning down the lead role in Drumline.
