Roc-A-Fella Records | |
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Parent company | Universal Music Group |
Founded | 1994 |
Founder | Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter Damon "Dame" Dash Kareem "Biggs" Burke |
Defunct | 2013 |
Status | Defunct |
Distributor(s) | |
Genre | Hip hop |
Country of origin | United States |
Location | New York City |
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. [1] 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. [2] [3]
Roc-A-Fella Records was founded in 1994. [4] After Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter had been rejected by major record labels, it began as an independent outlet for the rapper's debut album. Carter, Damon Dash and Kareem Burke started the label through Priority Records, using finances from Payday Records due to their singles-only deal. [5] [6] The name "Roc-A-Fella" was conceived by rapper Tone Hooker as a double entendre for Rockefeller and a rapper dominating his opponent (“rocking a fella”). [7] Though Reasonable Doubt (1996) didn't earn immediate commercial success, it spawned successful singles and earned Jay-Z regional popularity in hip hop. Starting out as Roc-A-Fella's only artist, Jay-Z was supported by the Notorious B.I.G.'s producer DJ Clark Kent and Camp Lo's producer DJ Ski; affiliated rappers, Sauce Money, Jaz-O, and a young Memphis Bleek, though only Memphis Bleek would eventually sign with the label.
In June 1997, Roc-A-Fella agreed to a 50/50 partnership and distribution deal with Def Jam Recordings. In November 1997, Roc-A-Fella released their first two albums under Def Jam's distribution, Jay-Z's sophomore album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 , as well as R&B duo Christión's debut and only album for the label, Ghetto Cyrano , on the same day. Roc-A-Fella and Jay-Z saw increasing popularity, mainly due to a high-profile appearance by Jay on The Notorious B.I.G.'s posthumous Life After Death , complete with Roc-A-Fella and Damon Dash references. While Memphis Bleek signed with Roc-A-Fella, Sauce Money chose to pursue a deal with Priority, and Jaz-O refrained from signing anywhere and provided production for only one song on In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, "Rap Game/Crack Game." Despite Jaz-O not signing to Roc-A-Fella, he became Memphis Bleek's manager. In 1998, Roc-A-Fella Records released the movie Streets Is Watching and the accompanying soundtrack; the film compiles various Jay-Z videos into a continuous story, and the album introduced more affiliated, future Roc-A-Fella Records acts like Noreaga, M.O.P., and DJ Clue, as well as producer Irv Gotti and the short-lived group, Murder Inc. (namesake of Irv's record label, Murder Inc.).
Jay's 1998 album, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life , saw him largely depart from his previous entourage and venture forth with producers Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, The 45 King and Jermaine Dupri. Vol. 2 spawned his first major hit, "Hard Knock Life", and became the label's first Platinum-RIAA certified release; it was the last Roc-A-Fella release to see appearances by Jaz-O or Sauce Money, and the first to feature new Roc artists Beanie Sigel and Amil. DJ Clue released the 1st of his collaboration-album-style series in The Professional , which saw the first Roc-A-Fella appearance of Cam'ron; meanwhile, DJ Ski had, at the time, formed the production company Roc-A-Blok, although the company folded when Ski moved out of New York to take a break from music. [8]
In August 1999, Memphis Bleek's debut album, Coming of Age , was released through Roc-A-Fella. The album was executive produced by Kareem " Biggs" Burke, Damon Dash, and Jay-Z. It featured guest appearances from Roc-A-Fella artists Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z. The album also featured guest appearances from Dark Half and Da Ranjahz, artists signed to Roc-A-Fella's subsidiary label The Carter Foundation. Despite their appearances, they soon parted ways with The Carter Foundation. Though not as successful as Jay-Z's albums, Coming Of Age achieved Gold status in America thanks to the single What You Think Of That (featuring Jay-Z). Jay-Z's 1999 album Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter continued Jay's new affiliations with then-popular producers; in 2000, the label saw a redefinition in both sound and roster. Jay-Z put out The Dynasty: Roc La Familia as a solo album. Originally intended to be a collaboration project, it nonetheless featured heavy appearances by Beanie Sigel, Amil, and Memphis Bleek, along with a Philly rapper Freeway guest spot that led to him being signed to Roc-A-Fella. Rather than return to Timbaland or Swizz Beatz for production, Jay selected beats from a new crop of producers: Kanye West, Bink, The Neptunes and Just Blaze. Each beat-smith would go on to become consistently involved in future Roc-A-Fella projects.
The new decade saw Roc-A-Fella begin to expand beyond one figurehead artist. Although Jay-Z remained the label's prominent image—with the acclaimed [9] release of The Blueprint and the closing of his trial for the 1999 stabbing of producer Lance Rivera [10] —other Roc artists began to gain popularity and acceptance. In 2000, Beanie Sigel released The Truth and reached #5 on the Billboard charts, DJ Clue released The Professional 2 , and Memphis Bleek released The Understanding . Although Clue and Beans's albums hit the top five on the Billboard charts, Bleek's album was in the top twenty. Nonetheless, all three albums were certified Gold by the RIAA. Amil's album, however, had lackluster sales. Jay-Z and Damon Dash began signing up new talent, including Freeway, and several young Philadelphia rappers that were later compiled into the Freeway/Sigel-led group, State Property. During this time, Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel were embroiled in a feud with Ruff Ryders artists Jadakiss and DMX. Disses back and forth between Jay-Z and Jadakiss implied a conflict between Jay and former groupmate DMX, led to a full-on war of words between Sigel and Kiss, and eventually culminated in a diss by Beanie Sigel over Jada's hit "Put Your Hands Up," after which the rivalry faded. [11] On December 4, 2001 (Jay-Z's 32nd birthday), it was announced and confirmed that rapper Cam'ron had signed to Roc-A-Fella through his connection with Damon Dash. After Cam'ron was signed, his rap group The Diplomats as well as Diplomats members Juelz Santana and Jimmy Jones also signed to Roc-A-Fella as well.
Upon signing to Roc-A-Fella, Cam'ron reached a new commercial peak. On May 14, 2002, Roc-A-Fella released Cam'ron's Roc-A-Fella debut Come Home With Me . The album featured guest appearances from Roc-A-Fella artists Jimmy Jones, Juelz Santana, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and Jay-Z, and featured production from Roc-A-Fella's in house producers Just Blaze and Kanye West. It featured two hit singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma" (both featuring Juelz Santana), which both peaked in the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the moderately successful third single "Daydreaming". The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA for selling over a million copies in America. From 2002 to 2003, Damon Dash signed several artists in response to Jay-Z's talk of retirement after his 2002 album The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse . He signed M.O.P. and Ol' Dirty Bastard, gave Grafh a joint-venture deal, and attempted to sign Twista and Joe Budden. Twista never signed to Roc-A-Fella due to his deal with Atlantic Records. Roc-A-Fella experienced its height in product releases and overall popularity as a brand name during this period. On March 25, 2003, Roc-A-Fella released The Diplomats' debut album Diplomatic Immunity . Despite not producing any major hits, the success of the singles Built This City and Dipset Anthem led to the album being certified Gold by the RIAA. In late 2003, the company released Jay-Z's alleged final album, The Black Album . Rumors of friction between Carter and Dash became apparent; though denied by both camps at the time, problems involving Damon's media attention and Jay's alleged inaccessibility had been brewing since the music video shoot for "Big Pimpin'".
After Jay-Z's supposed last hurrah, it was revealed that he had accepted a position as CEO and President of Def Jam Recordings, and The Island Def Jam Music Group purchased the remaining 50 percent stake of Roc-A-Fella Records that IDJ didn't already own. Dash, poised to take greater control in the company, began heavily promoting artists Cam'ron, The Diplomats, State Property, Kanye West, and Twista. In 2004, Kanye West's album, The College Dropout , became a huge commercial and critical success, selling multi-Platinum-RIAA certified sales, and Foxy Brown was signed and began work on her album, Black Rose. The infamous 'split' between Dash, Carter, and Burke occurred when it was revealed the trio had sold their 50% interest in Roc-A-Fella to The Island Def Jam Music Group, making the label full owners. As President, Carter retained control of the Roc and his masters, ousting his 2 former partners. He later explained that he had offered to turn down the position and ownership for the masters to Reasonable Doubt alone:
So I was like, let me get Reasonable Doubt and I'll give up [the rest of] my masters. I'll give up Roc-A-Fella, I'll give up president and CEO of Def Jam—everything. Just give me my baby to hold on to so 10 years down the line, I can look back and I got something—I'm not empty-handed. And I was the 1 being offered everything. I thought it was more than fair ... And when that was turned down, I had to make a choice. I'll leave that for the people to say what choice they would've made. That's about it. I don't really wanna talk about Dame or Biggs. I don't have nothing negative to say about them.
— Jay-Z, XXL
As Dash and Burke set up their own fledgling record label, originally called Roc4life and later rechristened to Dame Dash Music Group, each artist was offered their choice of labels. Memphis Bleek and Kanye West remained on Roc-A-Fella. Jimmy Jones and The Diplomats opted to leave Roc-A-Fella in 2004. Cam'Ron chose not to stay with either Dame Dash Music Group or Roc-A-Fella and instead stayed with Diplomat Records and signed with Asylum Records for distribution for his next two albums. Cam'ron was especially vocal in running a smear campaign against Jay-Z, claiming Jay-Z blocked him from an executive position Dash had offered him at Roc-A-Fella. [12]
Beanie Sigel, then doing a year's incarceration on an attempted murder charge, put out his album The B. Coming on Dame Dash and Roc-A-Fella; this was accompanied by accusations from Dash that of all the members of State Property, only Oschino had gone to visit Sigel in prison. Though Beanie had initially chosen Dame Dash Music Group, the rest of the group refused, preferring to remain on Roc-A-Fella; in response, Beanie Sigel effectively put the group on hold, claiming disappointment in his groupmates. M.O.P. and Grafh also left Roc-A-Fella for Dame Dash Music Group, though both acts parted ways with Dash soon thereafter. Due to the 2004 death of Ol' Dirty Bastard, Dash also brought with him masters of the rapper's project and promises to release the album, A Son Unique , though this never occurred.
Memphis Bleek and Kanye West released 534 and Late Registration , respectively, in 2005, along with the Young Gunz' sophomore effort and Teairra Marí's debut, though only Kanye West's project saw significant sales. It was stated by Memphis Bleek that Cory Gunz had signed, but nothing materialized. By the end of the year, Dash had split his label from Def Jam and Jay-Z's role overseeing his project, after asking for more money and a bigger role in the company. Dame Dash Music Group left Def Jam and was subsequently dissolved.
In 2006, releases were largely limited to those of Roc-La-Familia, a Latino-geared label under Roc-A-Fella that followed the trend of reggaeton. Héctor el Father and N.O.R.E. both put out albums, and the label was home to New York rapper Tru Life, but has since folded. Jay-Z made his return that year with Kingdom Come , to mixed reviews. He stepped down from his Def Jam position and put out a second album in 2007, American Gangster , to more positive reviews and sales, along with Kanye West's Graduation , Beanie Sigel's The Solution , and Freeway's Free at Last ; Kanye West's album sold multi-platinum to rave reviews. Freeway's project received acclaim but not major sales, and contained comments aimed at Kanye West and Just Blaze for not supplying production. He later amended his comments, stating he desired to work with Just Blaze but the producer hasn't reached out. This may have been due to Just Blaze's work on American Gangster and complications regarding his Atlantic-distributed label, Fort Knocks, and his artist Saigon.
The signing of Ruff Ryders artist Jadakiss, former rival to both Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel, also came in 2007, as did Uncle Murda. Foxy Brown was dropped from the label after 2 years, in light of a jail sentence. Though Young Chris and Peedi Crakk continued to appear on projects, neither seemed any closer to solo projects, and in 2008 Peedi Crakk announced that State Property had been dropped from the label. [13] This was countered by Beanie Sigel's manager, who confirmed that Beanie Sigel and Freeway were still part of Roc-A-Fella. [14] Young Chris also apparently signed as a solo artist. 2008 saw only the release of Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak , garnering decent sales. It also brought repeated disses in songs and interviews from Peedi Crakk towards Jay-Z, claiming he held up his project on purpose, though he claims to have moved on. During that year, Jay-Z had signed a $150 million deal with Live Nation that included concerts, endorsements and recordings, and included a platform for him to launch his Roc Nation label. [15] Uncle Murda left the label after a year and a half with no release, citing lack of executive interest after Jay-Z left Def Jam.
In March 2009, Freeway procured his release from Def Jam, claiming a need to explore his options; shortly, he announced his signing to Ca$h Money, while stating he would always respect Roc-A-Fella. [16] Longtime signee Memphis Bleek also reported his departure from Def Jam, deciding not to travel to Roc Nation in favor of starting his own record label, but he is still very close with Roc-A-Fella. [17] Additionally, Tru Life has been referred to as a "1 time [or past] affiliate" of Roc-A-Fella upon his turning himself in to authorities for his connection to a retaliatory stabbing. [18] On May 21, 2009, Jay-Z had bought back his contract from Def Jam for an unprecedented $5,000,000 and started his deal with Live Nation.
Jadakiss briefly moved to Roc-A-Fella and released an album The Last Kiss before reuniting with Ruff Ryders. [19] On May 3, 2010, Damon Dash relaunched Roc-A-Fella after nearly a year of inactivity with his 1st artist being former Young Money rapper Curren$y. [20] Curren$y's third album, Pilot Talk , was to be released under the newly relaunched Roc-A-Fella. [21] However, Curren$y stated in interviews with both XXL and Complex that the album would be released under Damon Dash's DD172 record label division, BluRoc Records [22] [23] [24] and distributed through Def Jam. On August 8, 2011, Jay-Z and Kanye West released a collaborative album titled Watch the Throne . It was later revealed that Jay-Z was part of a short-lived relaunched Roc-A-Fella, as the album was released on Roc-A-Fella, Roc Nation, and Def Jam.
In September 2012, record label Tuff City, via its subsidiary TufAmerica, filed a lawsuit on the grounds of copyright infringement by Roc-A-Fella, seeking undisclosed damages. [25] The complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan claims Roc-A-Fella and their parent Island Def Jam paid them a $62,500 license fee to sample Eddie Bo's "Hook and Sling, Part 1" in Kanye West's "Who Will Survive in America" and "Lost in the World". Despite this, Tuff City says UMG and Roc-A-Fella "failed and refused to enter into written license agreements that accounted for their multiple other uses of 'Hook and Sling'". [26] The unmentioned "multiple other" uses TufAmerica refers to are in the "Lost in the World" video and the short film based on Kanye's "Runaway". Tuff City is represented by New York attorney Kelly Talcott. [27]
On June 16, 2013, Jay-Z announced with a tweet: "VII IV XIII Roc A Fella/Roc Nation", hinting a possible relaunch and revival of Roc-A-Fella and a possible merger with Roc Nation. However, it was later revealed that the tweet instead meant that Roc-A-Fella was only temporarily relaunched, specifically for the sole purpose of releasing his new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail .
In June 2021, Roc-A-Fella sued its co-founder Damon Dash for attempting to auction off a non-fungible token representing the Jay-Z album Reasonable Doubt , due to Roc-A-Fella owning the rights to the album. In response, Dash claimed that he was not trying to sell the album, but his own share of the record label. On June 22, a restraining order prohibiting Dash from further selling the album was placed. [28]
In 2002, Roc-A-Fella released through Lions Gate Entertainment, State Property . The movie, while not the first for Dash, would be the start of ROC Films/Roc-A-Fella Films. The film studio would go on to release Paid in Full the same year and follow up in 2003 with Paper Soldiers and the hip-hop satire Death of a Dynasty . In 2005, the sequel to the studios debut release would hit theatres State Property 2 , featuring rap stars such as Beanie Sigel and Damon Dash, who also produced and co-created the story. Cameo roles included musicians Kanye West, N.O.R.E, and Mariah Carey, and light heavyweight champion boxers Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright. The list of films include:
Roc-La-Familia was founded in 2005 by then Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam President/CEO Shawn Carter. This sub-label was created to focus on signing international recording artists.
Artist | Album | Details |
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Jay-Z | Reasonable Doubt |
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Christión | Ghetto Cyrano |
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Jay-Z | In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 |
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Jay-Z | Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life |
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Memphis Bleek | Coming of Age |
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Jay-Z | Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter |
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Beanie Sigel | The Truth |
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Amil | All Money Is Legal |
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Jay-Z | The Dynasty: Roc La Familia |
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Memphis Bleek | The Understanding |
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Beanie Sigel | The Reason |
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Jay-Z | The Blueprint |
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Jay-Z and R. Kelly | The Best of Both Worlds |
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Cam'ron | Come Home with Me |
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Jay-Z | The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse |
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Freeway | Philadelphia Freeway |
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The Diplomats | Diplomatic Immunity |
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Juelz Santana | From Me to U |
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Jay-Z | The Black Album |
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Memphis Bleek | M.A.D.E. |
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Kanye West | The College Dropout |
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Young Gunz | Tough Luv |
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Jay-Z and R. Kelly | Unfinished Business |
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Jay-Z and Linkin Park | Collision Course |
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Cam'ron | Purple Haze |
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Memphis Bleek | 534 |
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Young Gunz | Brothers from Another |
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Teairra Marí | Teairra Marí |
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Kanye West | Late Registration |
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Jay-Z | Kingdom Come |
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Kanye West | Graduation |
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Jay-Z | American Gangster |
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Freeway | Free at Last |
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Beanie Sigel | The Solution |
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Kanye West | 808s & Heartbreak |
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Jadakiss | The Last Kiss |
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Kanye West | My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy |
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Jay-Z and Kanye West | Watch the Throne |
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Kanye West | Yeezus |
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Jay-Z | Magna Carta Holy Grail |
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Artist | Album | Details |
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Various Artists | Streets Is Watching |
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DJ Clue? | The Professional |
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DJ Clue? | Backstage |
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DJ Clue? | The Professional 2 |
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State Property | State Property |
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Various Artists | Paid in Full |
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State Property | The Chain Gang Vol. 2 |
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DJ Clue? | The Professional 3 |
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Artist | Album | Details |
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Jay-Z | MTV Unplugged |
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Kanye West | VH1 Storytellers |
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Cam'ron Giles, better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance "Un" Rivera's Untertainment, an imprint of Epic Records to release his first two studio albums Confessions of Fire (1998) and S.D.E. (2000); the former received gold certification by the RIAA. After leaving Epic, Giles signed with Roc-A-Fella Records in 2001 to release his third studio album, Come Home with Me, the following year. It received platinum certification by the RIAA and spawned the singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. His fourth studio album, Purple Haze (2004) was met with similar success and likewise received gold certification by the RIAA.
Leslie Edward Pridgen, better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper. Originally hailing 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.
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.
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.
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.
Pedro Louis Zayas, better known by his stage names Peedi Crakk or Peedi Peedi, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his guest appearances on Freeway's 2003 single "Flipside" and Jay-Z's album The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse (2002). He was a member of the Roc-A-Fella Records group State Property, and was signed to G-Unit Philly. He is of Puerto Rican descent.
Come Home With Me is the third studio album by American rapper Cam'ron, released on May 14, 2002, by Cam'ron's Diplomats Records and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. 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.
Def Jam Recordings is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
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.
Diplomat Records is an American hip hop record label co-founded by Harlem rappers Jim Jones and Cam'ron.
Get Low Records is a hip hop record label founded by Memphis Bleek in 1998.
"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.
Paid in Full 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.
This is the discography of rapper Freeway.
Gimel Androus Keaton, professionally better known by his pseudonym Young Guru, is an American audio engineer, record producer, disc jockey, and record executive from Wilmington, Delaware. In 2019, Young Guru won a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album for recording the album Everything Is Love by The Carters. He has worked with many leading recording artists, most notably Jay-Z and Kanye West, and an April 2015 The Wall Street Journal profile called him "the most famous and successful engineer in the history of hip-hop".