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 is best 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.
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.
Amil Kahala Whitehead is an American former rapper and singer. Based in New York City,she signed with Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records,in a joint venture with Columbia Records in 1997. The following year,she appeared alongside Ja Rule on his single "Can I Get A..." for the Rush Hour film soundtrack.
Come Home with Me is the third studio album by American rapper Cam'ron,released on May 14,2002,by his own label Diplomats Records,Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. There are featured guest appearances from Jimmy Jones,Juelz Santana,Freekey Zekey,DJ Kay Slay,Daz Dillinger,Tiffany,Jay-Z,McGruff,Memphis Bleek,and Beanie Sigel. To date,it is his most commercially successful album;it peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 226,000 copies,and eventually sold one million copies in the United States,being certified Platinum by the RIAA.
Nas &Ill Will Records Presents QB's Finest,commonly known as simply QB's Finest,is a compilation album released on November 21,2000 and the second release from rapper Nas' new Ill Will Records imprint,distributed by Columbia Records. It featured Nas and a number of other rappers from the Queensbridge housing projects,including Mobb Deep,Nature,Nashawn,Littles,Bravehearts and Cormega,who had briefly reconciled a longtime feud with Nas.
"Nastradamus" is the first single from Nas' fourth album of the same name. It was produced by L.E.S. The song contains the lyrics "You wanna ball 'til you fall,I can help you with that" which were viewed as a jab at Roc-A-Fella artist Memphis Bleek,sparking the beef which would eventually involve Jay-Z. The music video,directed by Jeff Byrd,was originally released in 3-D with Tower Records providing "Nastradamus" 3-D glasses as a tie in. Nas debuted the video with Carson Daly on MTV's TRL in November 1999. The beat uses the sample "The Monorail Express" by the J.B.'s,the same one EPMD used on their song "Let the Funk Flow" from their 1988 album Strictly Business.
Get Low Records is a hip hop record label founded by Memphis Bleek in 1998.
"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.
Coming of Age is the debut studio album by American rapper Memphis Bleek. It was released August 3,1999,via The Island Def Jam Music Group,Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records on August 3,1999. The album spawned the hit single "Memphis Bleek Is...".
534 is the fourth studio album by rapper Memphis Bleek. It was released by Get Low Records,Roc-A-Fella Records,and Def Jam Recordings on May 17,2005. The album was executive produced Bleek's mentor and childhood friend Jay-Z,who also recorded the song "Dear Summer" for the album. Other guests include Young Gunz,M.O.P.,and Rihanna,whose appearance on the song "The One" was the major label debut.
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.
Los Rompe Discotekas is a 2006 compilation album by Héctor el Father. This album was released under the Roc-A-Fella Records label and under contract with Jay-Z. Popular singles include "Here We Go Yo" by Héctor el Father featuring Jay-Z,"Yomo Dele" by Yomo featuring Fat Joe,and "El Teléfono" by Héctor el Father and Wisin &Yandel. The album also features guest appearances by Roc-A-Fella artists such as Memphis Bleek and Freeway. The album has sold over one million copies. A remixed version of the album was released as El Rompe Discoteka:The Mix Album.
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.
"Change the Game" is the second single from rapper Jay-Z from his 2000 album The Dynasty:Roc La Familia. It features guest raps by Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel,production from Rick Rock and backing vocals by Static Major. Upon release,the song's intention was to promote Sigel and Bleek,but Steve Juon of RapReviews.com considers Jay-Z to outperform both rappers. A music video directed by David Meyers was made for "Change the Game."
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".
"Is That Your Chick (The Lost Verses)" is the second single from Memphis Bleek's second album,The Understanding. The single version featured Jay-Z and Missy Elliott. The album version featured a verse from Twista and another verse from Jay-Z. The song was produced by Timbaland and was released in 2000. The original version of the song appeared on the European (but not American) version of Jay-Z's Vol. 3...Life and Times of S. Carter. Memphis Bleek later recorded verses for the song,and it was released as the second single from Bleek's The Understanding. In the alternate version the chorus is changed from "Cause that's Jay and them..." to "Cause that's Bleek and them...".
Jonathan Allen Burks Sr.,better known by his stage name Jaz-O,is an American rapper and record producer. Active in the late 1980s through the 1990s,he became known in retrospect as the mentor of fellow Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z. Burks,nicknamed "the Originator",debuted the artist on his 1986 single "H. P. Gets Busy". Burks signed with EMI to release three studio albums:Word to the Jaz (1989),To Your Soul (1990) and Kingz Kounty (2002). His debut extended play (EP),The Warmup (2021) was the first release from the Roc Nation subsidiary,Equity Distribution. He has also been credited with production work for other artists including Puff Daddy,Rakim,Usual Suspects,GZA,Kool G Rap,Queen Latifah,M.O.P.,and Group Home,among others.
