Roc Nation

Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a record label, talent agency, media production firm and clothing line along with educational and philanthropic programs.

Roc Nation, LLC

Company type	Private
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	April 1, 2008; 16 years ago (April 1, 2008)
Founder	Jay-Z
Headquarters	540 West 26th Street New York, NY 10001 U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Jay-Z (Founder/Chairman) Desiree Perez (CEO) Michael Yormark (President and CEO, Roc Nation Sports International) Jay Brown (Vice Chairman) Lenny Santiago (Executive Vice President, A&R) [1]
Owner	Shawn Carter
Divisions	Team Roc Equity Latin Roc Nation Unified Roc Nation United Roc Nation TV&Films Roc Nation Sports Roc Nation Sports International Roc Nation Management, LLC Roc Nation Records, LLC Roc Nation Publishing, LLC Paper Planes Roc Lit 101 Three Six Zero S10 Entertainment & Media Roc Nation Distribution Arrive ESM Productions, LLC Édition Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment Monogram Roc Nation Rock Made In America Festival
Website	www.rocnation.com

History

In 2008, Roc Nation was founded by Jay-Z with the intent of signing pop and hip hop artists, succeeding his previous label, Roc-A-Fella Records. Unlike Roc-A-Fella, Jay-Z served as the company's sole proprietor. In February 2009, Roc Nation signed its first artist, rapper J. Cole.

In April 2013, Roc Nation supporting ally and close family member to its founder Jay-Z , A.G. Fahrenheit assisted Roc Nation in forming a new sports management division, Roc Nation Sports, a subsidiary dedicated to sports representation for professional athletes.^[2] Shortly thereafter, Roc Nation Sports also launched a boxing promotion division.^[3] After the Sony Music deal expired, in April 2013, Roc Nation signed a multi-year partnership with Universal Music.^[4]

In February 2015, Roc Nation And Three Six Zero Group announced the formation of Three Six Zero Entertainment, a management division for representing clients in film, television, and the literary arts.^[5]

In March 2017, Roc Nation supported Arliss Network for a short time. It is a channel that does almost the same thing and later released the app, www.arlissnetwork.net. ^[6]

In July 2017, Roc Nation collaborated with art collective MSFTSrep. ^[7]

In August 2019, Roc Nation announced a long-term partnership with the National Football League. The company will be the live-music entertainment strategist for the league, as well as augment social justice efforts through the Inspire Change initiative.^[8]

In August 2020, Roc Nation partnered with Long Island University in Brooklyn to begin a program called the Roc Nation School for Music, Sports, and Entertainment.^[9][10] In December 2020, it was announced that Roc Nation and Random House had teamed up to launch a new publishing imprint, Roc Lit 101.^[11]

In 2021, Roc Nation teamed up with American Greetings to create custom greeting cards.^[12] Roc Nation also announced plans to launch a new brand and multimedia platform named EDITION in partnership with Modern Luxury Media.^[13]

Notable artists

• Ambré
• Belly^[14]
• Buju Banton
• Casanova^[15]
• Claye
• Dixson
• Dorothy^[16]
• Farina
• Harloe
• Harry Hudson^[17]
• Infinity Song
• J. Cole^[18]
• Jaden^[19]
• Jay Electronica^[20]
• Jay-Z^[21]
• Jess Glynne
• Kalan.FrFr
• Major Myjah^[22]
• Mozart La Para^[23]
• Nicole Bus^[24]
• Rapsody^[25]
• Rihanna^[26]
• Snoh Aalegra^[27]
• Tainy
• The Anxiety
• The Lox^[28]
• Vic Mensa^[29]
• Willow^[30]
• Kay Young^[31]

Management

• After the Burial
• Alicia Keys
• Animals as Leaders
• Basement
• Benny The Butcher
• Big Sean
• Bobby Shmurda
• Bohnes
• Chon
• Christina Aguilera^[32]
• Clarissa Molina
• Claudia Leitte^[33]
• DJ Khaled^[34]
• Fabolous^[35]
• Fat Joe^[36]
• Fred Ball^[37]
• Hit-Boy
• Jadakiss^[38]
• Jess Glynne
• Jim Jones^[39]
• Jozzy
• Kaash Paige
• Kamaiyah
• Kelly Rowland
• Key Wane^[40]
• Lil Uzi Vert
• Lola Ponce
• Mack Wilds^[41]
• Maxo Kream^[42]
• Miguel
• Mustard^[43]
• Megan Thee Stallion^[44]
• Rapman^[45]
• Rihanna^[26]
• Rival Sons
• Robin Thicke
• Spiritbox
• Stargate
• Statik Selektah^[46]
• The Lox^[28]
• The-Dream^[47]
• Tinashe^[48]
• Touché Amoré
• We Came as Romans
• Westside Gunn^[49]
• Yo Gotti^[50]

Former artists

• Alexa Goddard
• Alexis Jordan^[51]
• Bridget Kelly
• Ceraadi^[52]
• Demi Lovato^[46]
• Freeway^[53]
• Gabi DeMartino^[54]
• Grimes^[55]
• Haim
• Inna
• Jarren Benton^[56]
• Jay Park^[57]
• K Koke
• Kanye West
• Kyle Watson
• Kylie Minogue
• M.I.A.^[38]
• Meek Mill
• Mariah Carey^[58]
• Mayaeni^[59]
• Nasty C
• Nick Jonas
• Q Da Fool^[60]
• Rita Ora
• ROMANS^[61]
• Romeo Santos^[62]
• Shakira^[63]
• Sugababes
• T.I.
• Tiwa Savage^[64]
• Wale
• Yellow Claw^[65]

Publishing

• Jahlil Beats
• Lab Ox
• Ludwig Göransson
• Symbolyc One
• Stress
• Tiwa Savage

Arrive

Roc Nation also operates an in-house venture capital arm called Arrive, which is led by Neil Sirni, the group's co-founder and president.^[66] As of May 2021, the company had reportedly made 29 investments in fintech, insurtech, edtech, health and wellness, social media, and gaming.^[66]

Roc Nation Distribution

In 2018, Roc Nation launched an independent label named Roc Nation Distribution. The first artist to release a project under the independent label was Jay-Z's mentor, Jaz-O.^[67] In 2019, Equity also acquired the rights to Jay-Z's 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt for release on digital and streaming platforms.^[68]

See also

• Roc Nation albums discography
• Roc Nation singles discography

References

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2. "With New Move, Jay-Z Enters a Sports Agent State of Mind". The New York Times. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
3. "Roc Nation Sports Signs 6 New Boxers". Sports Agent Blog. 12 February 2015. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
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6. "The Lox promotes Arliss Network & gives back". Roc Nation. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
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9. "Roc Nation Partners With Brooklyn's LIU to Launch New School". billboard. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
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25. Ortiz, Edwin. "Rapsody Signs With Jay Z's Roc Nation". www.complex.com. Complex. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
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33. Huerta, Heidi. "You'll Be Seeing A Lot More Of Roc Nation's Brazilian Pop Artist, Claudia Leitte". MTV.com. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
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44. Alex Robert Ross (13 September 2019). "Megan Thee Stallion signs management deal with Roc Nation". The Fader. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
45. "Rapman". Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
46. Brandle, Lars (11 November 2015). "Demi Lovato & Nick Jonas Manager Partners with Roc Nation: Exclusive". Billboard. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
47. "The-Dream". rocnation.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
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51. Corner, Lewis (5 August 2016). "Whatever happened to Alexis Jordan?". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
52. "Ceraadi". Retrieved 14 June 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
53. "Freeway Signs with Roc Nation". www.rapup.com. Rap-Up. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
54. "i have something to tell you + please dont hate me for it!". YouTube. 16 January 2020. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021.
55. "Grimes". rocnation.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
56. "Jarren Benton". rocnation.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
57. "Jay Park". rocnation.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
58. "Mariah Carey Signs With Jay-Z's Roc Nation for Management". Variety. 22 November 2017. Archived from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
59. "Mayaeni". rocnation.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
60. Saponara, Michael. "Emerging DMV Rapper Q Da Fool Signs Record Deal With Roc Nation: Exclusive". billboard.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
61. "Romans". rocnation.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
62. "Romeo Santos at Roc Nation". rocnation.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
63. "Shakira at Roc Nation". rocnation.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
64. "Welcome Tiwa Savage to the Roc Nation Family!". Retrieved 1 August 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
65. "Yellow Claw". rocnation.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
66. "More Than Just Brunch With Jay-Z? A Look Into Roc Nation's Investment Strategy". Afrotech. 3 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
67. Ortiz, Edwin. "What You Need to Know About Equity, Roc Nation's Independent Distribution Platform change they name to Roc Nation". complex.com. Complex Networks. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
68. Cowen, Trace William. "JAY-Z's 'Reasonable Doubt' Now Available on YouTube Music Premium, SoundCloud, and More Streaming Services". finance.yahoo.com. Yahoo. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.

External links

• Official website