1994–2000: Formation and early years Roc-A-Fella Records was founded in 1994. 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. 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"). 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. The label closed out 1998 with the December release of DJ Clue's debut album,
The Professional, which saw guest appearances from Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, and an appearance from future Roc-A-Fella artist
Cam'ron. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA, making DJ Clue the first other than Jay-Z to achieve platinum status. 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. In August 1999, Memphis Bleek released his debut album
Coming of Age through Roc-A-Fella. The album was executive produced by Kareem "Biggs" Burke, Damon Dash, and Jay-Z, and featured guest appearances from Roc-A-Fella artists Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z, as well as Dark Half and Da Ranjahz, who were signed to the label's subsidiary, The Carter Foundation. Despite their contributions, both Dark Half and Da Ranjahz eventually parted ways with The Carter Foundation. While Coming of Age didn’t reach the same level of success as Jay-Z’s albums, it achieved Gold status in the U.S., driven by 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.
2000–2005: Prominence and split 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 release of
The Blueprint and the closing of his trial for the 1999 stabbing of producer
Lance Rivera—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. 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. In January 2002, Roc-A-Fella released the film,
State Property. It starred Roc-A-Fella acts Damon Dash, Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Rell, Memphis Bleek, and DJ Clue. The title of became the namesake for both the Philadelphia based
State Property and Rocawear's subsidiary clothing line. Upon signing to Roc-A-Fella, Cam'ron reached a new commercial peak. In May, Cam'ron released his 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 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. In January 2004, Jay-Z entered talks with Island Def Jam to launch his own entertainment company, separate from Roc-A-Fella. The move sparked speculation about friction between him and Dash, fueled by concerns over Dash’s growing media presence and his push to expand Roc-A-Fella into film—a direction Jay-Z reportedly opposed. However, both parties publicly denied any conflict at the time. After Jay-Z's supposed last hurrah, it was announced and confirmed in December 2004 that
The Island Def Jam Music Group purchased the remaining 50 percent stake of Roc-A-Fella Records that IDJ didn't already own, and named Jay-Z as president/CEO of Def Jam. 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: 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. 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. Beanie had initially chosen Dame Dash Music Group, and he wanted to bring the rest of State Property over to Dame Dash. However, 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. also left Roc-A-Fella for Dame Dash Music Group, though they 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. On April 28, 2005, Cam'ron left Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam and signed to
Warner Music Group under the Asylum Records imprint. 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. 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. In May 2005, the Damon Dash Music Group's deal with Island Def Jam collapsed just three months after its launch. The split came amid Dash’s demands for increased marketing funds and a larger executive role, which strained relations with Def Jam executives. Additionally, Dash grew tired of Jay-Z, now president of Def Jam, overseeing his projects. Dame Dash Music Group subsequently left Def Jam and by 2007 was dissolved.
2006–2009: Roc Redefinition and departure of Jay-Z 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. This was countered by Beanie Sigel's manager, who confirmed that Beanie Sigel and Freeway were still part of Roc-A-Fella, though Beanie Sigel would later leave that year. 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 $150 million deal with
Live Nation that included concerts, endorsements and recordings, and included a platform for him to launch his
Roc Nation label. Uncle Murda left the label after a year and a half with no release, citing lack of executive interest after Jay-Z left Def Jam. In March 2009, Freeway procured his release from Def Jam, claiming a need to explore his options; shortly, he announced his signing to
Ca$h Money, while stating he would always respect Roc-A-Fella. 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. 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. On May 21, 2009, Jay-Z had bought back his contract from Def Jam for an unprecedented $5,000,000 and started his deal with Live Nation.
2010–2013: Final years and TufAmerica vs. Roc-A-Fella Jadakiss briefly moved to Roc-A-Fella and released an album
The Last Kiss before reuniting with Ruff Ryders. On May 3, 2010, Damon Dash relaunched Roc-A-Fella after nearly a year of inactivity with his 1st artist being former
Young Money rapper
Curren$y. Curren$y's third album,
Pilot Talk, was to be released under the newly relaunched Roc-A-Fella. However, Curren$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 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. 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'". 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. 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. == Legal issues ==