JAY-Z's former business partner Damon Dash has blamed his generous nature for his financial downfall, insisting he was so focused on helping others succeed, he lost control of his own career.
The rap mogul has been making headlines with his money struggles in recent months; he is facing foreclosure on his two properties in the trendy TriBeCa area of New York and reportedly owes $2 million (£1.4 million) in state taxes, among other debts.
To make matters worse, his designer wife of four years, Rachel Roy, filed for divorce earlier this month (Mar09) - after Dash helped her launch her own women's fashion line.
And Dash claims he has spent too much time helping others - including Roy and rapper pal Jim Jones - and not enough time on his own endeavours.
He tells Billboard.com, "My mistake was watching everyone else's careers and not watching mine."
Dash insists he spent too long planning Jones' career breakthrough - and that has cost him dear.
He adds, "After being able to settle my wife's company, I was able to start doing other things. My first approach was the music business and getting with Jim Jones... I spent the last six months doing research, trying to figure out how to use all my resources to blow this out (make his album a hit)."