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Last week, the mecca for all Jay Z fans was a pop-up shop in Los Angeles for the 20 year anniversary of Reasonable Doubt. The space was a treasure trove of Jay history and had plenty of the principals of the earliest days of Roc-A-Fella show up to pay their respects. Jay himself made an appearance, but one of the most visible and vocal Roc representatives was jeweler Ben Baller.
For many, it wasn’t quite clear what Ben’s connection was, but he’d been rocking Roc chains so it was clear he was down with the team. As Ben tells it, one of those chains he was wearing is not only insanely rare but it has a legendary story behind it and just how he acquired it. He took to Instagram to share the story and clear up his relationship with Roc co-founders Jay, Dame Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke.
According to Ben, when he was working at a label — previously revealed on The Breakfast Club to be Priority Records — they signed Jay to a pressing and distribution deal and he forged his relationship with Roc-A-Fella. He mentions that he was always closest with Dame and recalls receiving gold plaques for Reasonable Doubt along with his first Roc chain at the “Song Cry” video shoot. Then, he reveals how he received the rare, one-of-three, rose gold Roc chain that were created for the original founders of the label.
Around the same time Biggs owed me $100 for some weed(OG Cali Kush) and I constantly kept pressing him to give me my money. I’d see him every year and asked and he acted like he ain’t hear me even though he was making 9 figures smh. So cut to last week in Santa Monica when Biggs came to LA to set up the #RD20 #ReasonableDoubt pop up shop. We sat down and had lunch and he asked me to join him in some press for RD and I told the story about him owing me 100 bucks. Right there Biggs stopped the interviewer and said Ben. The Rose chains is yours! Now stop asking me for the $100!
He also mentioned that Biggs plans to pay him back that $100, dollar by dollar every time he sees him from now on and even divulged who is in possession of the other two chains. It’s insane, and quite the reveal from the renown jeweler who has bumped shoulders with plenty of the titans in the music industry. Check out more of Ben’s pics from the event and his time with Biggs below and on his Instagram account.
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