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 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.
Dwight Equan Grant, better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his association with Jay-Z and his label Roc-A-Fella Records, to which Grant signed in 1998 and became a flagship artist. His debut studio album, The Truth (2000) was 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 hip hop collective State Property, which he formed with Roc-A-Fella labelmates, and who debuted in 2002 with a namesake film in which Grant starred. The group released two well-received studio albums.
State Property is a hip hop group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, led by rapper Beanie Sigel with fellow Philadelphia rappers Freeway, Peedi Crakk, Oschino Vasquez, and Omillio Sparks, and the duo Young Gunz. Formed in 2000, they signed with Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records to release two studio albums: their eponymous debut album (2002) and The Chain Gang Vol. 2 (2003), both of which saw critical and commercial success. The former album accompanied the namesake film in which the group starred, while its sequel was released in 2005 and mainly starred Sigel. Each member was dropped from the label in late 2007, leaving the future of the group in question.
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.
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.
Death of a Dynasty is a 2003 American comedy film. It is a satire of the hip hop music industry, centered on Roc-A-Fella Records, and stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Capone, and Damon Dash. It also features cameo appearances by celebrities such as Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, Chloë Sevigny, Master P, Flavor Flav, and Carson Daly.
The Reason is the second studio album by Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel, released on Roc-A-Fella Records. Originally scheduled for a June 12, 2001 release, the album was ultimately released June 26, 2001. The album contains 14 tracks, and special guests include Memphis Bleek, Jay-Z, Freeway, Omillio Sparks, Scarface, Daz, Kurupt, and Rell.
The Truth is the debut studio album by Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel. Originally scheduled for a Fall 1999 release, it was delayed to a February 8, 2000 release. The album was ultimately released on February 29, 2000, to critical and commercial success. The Truth sold 155,000 copies in its first week released. It debuted and peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard 200 and had one charting single, "Anything" by Jay-Z. Beanie Sigel and his debut album were intensely hyped up after "a few dazzling collaborations" according to Matt Conaway of AllMusic and Conaway says that it "is the culmination of that promise".
"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.
The following list is a discography of production by Just Blaze, an American hip hop record producer from Paterson, New Jersey. It includes a list of songs produced, co-produced and remixed by year, artist, album and title.
"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.
Gerrell Gaddis, better known by his stage name Rell, is an American R&B singer and songwriter from Bowman, South Carolina. He was the first male R&B singer to sign to New York City-based label Roc-A-Fella Records, where he recorded with artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Consequence, and Young Gunz.
"My Mind Right" is a song by American rapper Memphis Bleek, released by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings on March 5, 2000 as the lead single from his second studio album, The Understanding (2000). It also served as lead single for Roc-A-Fella Records' soundtrack album, Backstage: A Hard Knock Life.
Backstage is a 2000 American documentary film directed by Chris Fiore, chronicling the 1999 Hard Knock Life Tour that featured several of hip hops top acts including Jay-Z, DMX, Method Man and Redman. Produced by Damon Dash, Backstage featured live performances by several members of Def Jam's roster and gave an in-depth look at what happened backstage. Originally scheduled for a Fall 1999 release, the film was ultimately released on September 8, 2000.
Paid in Full/Dream Team is the soundtrack album to the 2002 film, Paid in Full. It was released on October 25, 2002, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. The soundtrack was released on two compact discs. The first disc was a collection of old school hip hop and R&B songs, while the second was a collection of new songs recorded by Roc-A-Fella. The album peaked at number 53 on the Billboard 200, number 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 2 on the Top Soundtracks chart.
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. Film critic reviews were generally mixed to negative. It was followed by a sequel, State Property 2 which was released in 2005.
"Flipside" is a song by American rapper Freeway and the third single from his debut studio album Philadelphia Freeway (2003). It features American rapper Peedi Crakk and was produced by Just Blaze.
"What We Do" is a song by American rapper Freeway. It was released on September 3, 2002, as the lead single from his debut studio album Philadelphia Freeway (2003). The song features American rappers Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel. It was produced by Just Blaze and contains a sample of "I Just Can't See Myself Without You" by Creative Source.
Chris Fiore is a US film writer, director and producer.
