Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is an American singer, songwriter and businesswoman. Dubbed as "Queen Bey" and a prominent cultural figure of the 21st century, she has been recognized for her artistry and performances, with Rolling Stone naming her one of the greatest vocalists of all time.
Dorsey Wesley, better known by his stage name Megahertz, is an American record producer, composer and songwriter.
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, better known by his stage name Nas, is an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas began his musical career in 1989 under the moniker "Nasty Nas", and recorded demos for fellow East Coast rapper Large Professor. He was later featured on the 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque" by his group, Main Source.
Shawn Corey Carter, known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. Known for his involvement in the success of other artists, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023. He served as the president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007 before founding the entertainment company, Roc Nation the following year.
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.
Paul Hunter is an American film director, screenwriter, and music video director. He has directed over 100 music videos, television advertisements and was nominated for an Emmy for Nike's Freestyle commercial. In 2004, the Washington Post called Hunter one of "most seminal names among black hip-hop directors."
"99 Problems" is the third single released by American rapper Jay-Z in 2004 from The Black Album. It was released on April 27, 2004. The chorus hook "I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one" is taken from the Ice-T single "99 Problems" from the album Home Invasion (1993). The hook was coined during a conversation between Ice-T and Brother Marquis of Miami-based 2 Live Crew. Marquis used the phrase in the 1996 2 Live Crew song "Table Dance".
Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, also known by his stage name Kid Cudi, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Cudi moved to New York City in pursuit of a musical career, where he first gained recognition following his song "Day 'n' Nite." Initially self-published on his MySpace page, the song became a hit online and served as a catalyst for Cudi to team up with record producers Plain Pat and Emile Haynie to record his first full-length project, a mixtape titled A Kid Named Cudi (2008). Its release helped Cudi rise to prominence and establish a fanbase, catching the attention of rapper Kanye West—who signed Cudi to his GOOD Music label by late 2008.
Nigel Sylvester is an American professional BMX athlete; He is best known for his progressive bicycling skills as well as his digital content featuring his unique BMX stunts and adventures around the globe. His most notable film series is GO, which gives viewers a first hand POV of Nigel's riding, featuring some of the most recognizable locations and attractions in the world. Nigel is considered a generational talent; unlike traditional BMX athletes, he does not compete. He built his career through cinematic content and by leveraging his creative expression through the use of social media.
"On to the Next One" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z, released on December 15, 2009 as the fourth single from his eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3 on his Roc Nation label and also released as the fourth single in the United Kingdom after "Young Forever". The song features additional rap vocals and music production from producer and rapper Swizz Beatz as well as a vocal sample of the words "under the spotlight" and a background synthesizer sound from the live version of Justice's song "D.A.N.C.E.".
GK Reid is an American producer, known for his work with celebrities from David Bowie to Rihanna and Lady Gaga, producing numerous films, music videos, ads, marketing campaigns and commercials, for his innovative creative direction and regenerative fashion design and social good impact projects. Constantly working around the world, he was raised between sword-fighting school with Nahangs in India, and learning healing arts with his Curandera mother in New Mexico, before moving to New York.
Miko Lim is an American film director and photographer. He is best known for directing commercials for Adidas, Nike, and Oakley with athletes including Patrick Mahomes, Leo Messi, and Russell Westbrook. His work has been recognized by major industry trades and award shows, including Cannes and the International Muse Creative Awards. For his work on Ocean Mother, a documentary short, he received a Bronze Clio Award for Best Direction as well as a Shots Awards shortlist nomination and multiple film festival selections.
Eran Creevy is a British director most famous for his films Shifty (2008) and Welcome to the Punch (2013), and several music videos.
Nabil Elderkin is an American-born Australian film and music video director and photographer, who is of Iranian and American descent. He is mononymously credited as Nabil in his videos. Elderkin has directed videos for musical artists such as: Dua Lipa, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, John Legend, and Foals. Born in Chicago and raised in Australia, he is most recently based in Los Angeles, California.
4:44 is the thirteenth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on June 30, 2017, through Roc Nation as an exclusive to Sprint and Tidal customers. The album was the first in a planned series of music exclusives from the Sprint–Tidal partnership, which never came to fruition due to Sprint's demise in 2020. On July 2, the album was made available for free digital download on Tidal's site for a limited time. A physical edition was released on July 7, including three additional tracks. On the same day, the album was made available to other streaming platforms, such as Apple Music, Google Play Music and Amazon Music.
"Picasso Baby" is a song by American hip hop artist Jay-Z from his twelfth studio album Magna Carta... Holy Grail. It is the second track on the album and features additional vocals by The-Dream and Zofia Borucka Moreno. The song was produced by Timbaland and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon and contains a sample of "Sirens" by Adrian Younge. Following the release of the album, the song peaked at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 based on downloads only.
On the Run Tour: Beyoncé and Jay Z is a 2014 concert special which documents the September 12 and 13, 2014, shows of American singers' Beyoncé and Jay-Z joint co-headlining venture On the Run Tour. Filmed at Stade de France in Paris, France, the special was directed by Swedish music video director Jonas Åkerlund and produced by HBO. It was broadcast on the channel on September 20, a week after the tour had finished. Prior to its airing, various trailers and short clips consisting of footage from the special were shared online. A video trilogy was filmed by photographer Dikayl Rimmasch and was scheduled to be released prior to the special's premiere; however, only its first part was posted online and removed from the Internet afterwards.
Emmanuel Kwasi Adjei is a Ghanaian-Dutch film director and visual artist. Adjei was featured as co-director and creative collaborator of Black Is King, the acclaimed musical film and visual album by American singer Beyoncé, which premiered on Disney+, July 31, 2020.
Jovan Branislav Todorovic is a Serbian American born artist and filmmaker based in New York. He works in film, photography, and music. He has directed The Belgrade Phantom, and short films Juvenile and You're Dead, America.
