Leslie Edward Pridgen, better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first gained recognition after appearing on Jay-Z's fifth album, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia in 2000. The following year, he became a member of the Philadelphia-based hip hop collective State Property, which were signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings. After releasing their debut album, Pridgen signed to Roc-A-Fella as a solo artist and began work on his debut album, Philadelphia Freeway (2003). Upon release, the album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and saw positive critical response. He released a follow-up, Free at Last (2007) to moderate reception before him and fellow State Property cohorts were dropped from the label.
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. Carter issued his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996) as the label's first release, in a joint venture with Priority Records. The label has signed and released albums for acts including Kanye West, Cam'ron, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Juelz Santana, Freeway, Jadakiss, Teairra Marí, State Property, and The Diplomats before its dissolution in 2013.
Malik Deshawn Cox, known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper. He first became known for his affiliation with fellow New York City-based rapper Jay-Z, with Cox often described as his hype man and protégé. Cox signed with his Roc-A-Fella Records label imprint in the late 1990s, through which he has released four major label studio albums: Coming of Age (1999), The Understanding (2000), M.A.D.E. (2003), and 534 (2005). He has since founded his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and Warehouse Music Group in 2016—through which he signed rapper Casanova.
Dwight Equan Grant, better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first became known for his association with Jay-Z, as a flagship artist for his now-defunct label imprint, Roc-A-Fella Records. Grant's debut studio album, The Truth (2000) was released through the label and met with critical and commercial success, peaking at number five on the Billboard 200. Along with his solo career, Grant was the de facto leader of the Philadelphia-based collective State Property, whom were also signed to Roc-A-Fella and debuted in 2002 with a namesake film in which Grant starred. The group released two well-received studio albums.
Young Gunz is an American hip hop duo from Philadelphia, composed of rappers Young Chris and Neef Buck. The group is part of Beanie Sigel's State Property collective and were signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. Young Gunz' 2003 debut single, "Can't Stop, Won't Stop", reached the top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Dynasty: Roc-La-Familia is the fifth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, featuring prominent appearances from signees of Roc-A-Fella Records. It was released on October 31, 2000, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its lead single, "I Just Wanna Love U ", produced by the Neptunes, became one of Jay-Z's most successful singles peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, with 557,789 copies sold in its first week. The album is certified double platinum by the RIAA. The album received positive reviews from critics, and became the 20th highest-selling R&B/Hip-Hop album of the 2000–2010 decade according to Billboard.
The B. Coming is the third studio album by American rapper Beanie Sigel. Originally scheduled for an October 2004 release, the album was ultimately released on March 29, 2005 through Dame Dash Music Group and Def Jam Recordings.
Roosevelt Harrell III, known professionally as Bink, is an American hip hop producer from Norfolk, Virginia, who is noted for his work with Roc-A-Fella Records artists. His most high-profile work has been Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album The Blueprint, for which he produced three tracks. He is sometimes credited as Bink! or Bink Dog. In 2011, Bink and American-reggae artist Atiba finished a collaborative album titled Foreigner. A release date for the project has yet to be announced.
"Money, Cash, Hoes" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z as the third single from his third album Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998). It was released on December 18, 1998. While the album version features a guest verse from rapper DMX, the remix features fellow rappers and Roc-A-Fella Records artists Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel with production by Swizz Beatz. Its beat features a sample of "Theme of Thief" from the 1989 Sega game Golden Axe. Producer Swizz Beatz stated that the glissando sounds were made by him sliding his hand across a keyboard, originally as a joke. The remix version is featured on the soundtrack to the movie The Corruptor. The music video for the remix version of the track is intertwined with clips from The Corruptor as well. In the end of the track, Pain in Da Ass talks, recreating dialogue from the film Goodfellas.
The Understanding is the second studio album by rapper Memphis Bleek, released by Get Low Records, Roc-A-Fella Records, and Def Jam Recordings on December 5, 2000. As of October 2002, the album has been certified gold by the RIAA for shipment of over 500,000 units.
"I Got That" is a song by American rapper Amil, featuring collaborative vocals by American singer Beyoncé. It was released on July 5, 2000 as Amil's debut solo single, from her debut album, All Money Is Legal (2000). The song was produced by L.E.S. and Poke & Tone, and was written by Amil, Shawn Carter, Tamy Lestor Smith, Samuel J. Barnes, Leshan Lewis, Makeda Davis, and Jean-Claude Olivier. It marked one of the first songs released by Beyoncé outside of Destiny's Child. The lyrics revolve around female empowerment and independence.
All Money Is Legal, also known as A.M.I.L.: , is the only studio album by American rapper Amil. It was released on August 29, 2000, through Roc-A-Fella, Columbia, and Sony Music. Jay-Z, Damon Dash, and Amil served as executive producer with a team of producers that included Just Blaze. Before the album's release, Amil was best known for her feature on Jay-Z's 1998 single "Can I Get A...". She was one of several up-and-coming artists signed to Roc-A-Fella, alongside Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel, who released an album in 2000. Although it was her only album on Roc-A-Fella, Amil had been closely associated with the label and its co-founder Jay-Z, earning the moniker "First Lady of Roc-A-Fella".
"4 da Fam" is a song by American rapper Amil, featuring verses from American rappers Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, and Beanie Sigel. Ty Fyffe produced the song. It was released on Roc-A-Fella as the second single from her debut album All Money Is Legal. In the song's lyrics, Amil boasts about being the best female rapper, and Jay-Z discusses his fears of becoming a father, which his verse suggests he believed was about to occur at the time.
Christopher Francis Ries, known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He rose to fame as one-half of the Philadelphia-based hip hop duo Young Gunz, which he formed with rapper Neef Buck in 2001. That same year, the duo joined the larger Philadelphia-based hip hop group State Property; both acts were signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records by the same time.
"Roc Boys ..." is the second single from Jay-Z's tenth studio album, American Gangster. The song is produced by Skyz Muzik, Diddy and two of his producers known as LV and Sean C from his production team, The Hitmen. It features additional vocals by Beyoncé, Kanye West and Cassie. The song samples "Make the Road by Walking" by The Menahan Street Band. On December 11, 2007, Rolling Stone named it the best song of 2007.
The discography of American rapper Memphis Bleek consists of four studio albums, twelve mixtapes, seventeen singles and fifteen music videos. An early signing to rapper Jay-Z's record label Roc-A-Fella Records, Bleek appeared on several of Jay-Z's early songs, and collaborated with him on the single "It's Alright" from the soundtrack to the film Streets Is Watching, which peaked at number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Bleek went on to release his debut album, Coming of Age, in 1999, which contained the singles "Memphis Bleek Is...", "My Hood to Your Hood" and "What You Think of That".
Backstage: Music Inspired by the Film is the soundtrack to the Chris Fiore's 2000 documentary film Backstage. Originally scheduled for a Fall 1999 release, it was then delayed to a January 11, 2000 release. The album was ultimately released on August 29, 2000 by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings.
State Property is a 2002 American crime film starring Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Damon Dash and Jay-Z. It was produced by Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella and distributed by Lions Gate Films. Abdul Malik Abbott directed the film and co-wrote its screenplay with Ernest "Tron" Anderson. The film was loosely based on Aaron Jones and the Junior Black Mafia (JBM), who participated in Philadelphia's drug trade from the late 1980s to early 1990s. It was followed by a sequel, State Property 2 which was released in 2005.
This is the videography for American rapper Jay-Z. They often involve him performing.
