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He claims it’s a hard knock life for him.
Tax deadbeat Damon Dash broke his silence over New York state’s decision to buy his share of Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records at an auction, saying he was shocked the rap mogul himself didn’t put in a bid.
Harlem native Dash, who owes the Empire State $8.7 million in back taxes, also griped during a nearly two-hour-long podcast that he was short-changed for years from his share of the label’s profits.
“I think people really don’t understand that from that third of [Jay-Z’s debut album] ‘Reasonable Doubt’ for the last like over 10, 15 years, I wasn’t receiving any royalties,” Dash said during the broadcast first aired Monday.
“I found some money that they didn’t tell me about and, you know, I took it, because I knew that I would never get paid,” he said. “There was no intention of me ever getting paid.”
An anonymous state rep on Friday plunked down $1 million for the one-third share Dash held in the record label that once produced hits like “Hard Knock Life” and “99 Problems,” the top bid.
Two other bidders offered $250,000 and $223,000.
Officials in Albany reportedly plan to flip the shares to help pay off Dash’s tax debt, while the Big Apple expects to recoup another $193,000 he owes in unpaid child support.
Jay-Z had intervened before the auction, filing a claim in August asking that full ownership of “Reasonable Doubt,” one of Roc-A-Fella’s top holdings, would revert to him in 2031.
In an email to The Post, a rep for Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s entertainment company, said the rapper’s request was granted.
The rep did not immediately comment Tuesday on Dash’s claims over the auction.
“I don’t want people to think my career is coming out here and doing this podcast and have to deal with everything and the misconceptions and people trying to f–k with my reputation, because I don’t have a team or lawyers to speak for me all day,” Dash said.
“I just come outside when I gotta protect my work and people be lying, and again just bugs me out.”
Meanwhile, Dash is listed as the state’s 27th-highest tax delinquent New Yorker.
“The auction is over but the work is not complete,” lawyer Chris Brown, who represents two people allegedly owed money by Dash, said after last week’ sale. “Mr. Dash’s legacy is now New York state property. I will work with New York state and New York City as the next phase of ownership of the shares.”
In his sometimes-rambling podcast, Dash said he wanted to put the whole thing behind him, and was now just “fighting for my independent freedom.”
“It’s a fight that nobody feels like dealing with when you’re building new things,” he said. “Fighting. You have to focus or else you’re gonna lose. And when you’re doing 20 different things and paying for 20 different things you don’t really feel like focusing on your past all day.”
He said the state’s $1 million bid on his Roc-A-Fella share was “really what it was worth.
“What this really taught me was that in the world, homie isn’t as big as the trade,” Dash said. “I thought more people would be interested in buying it because of the art value of it.
“And that’s the only thing I was selling.”
English (US)