Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

in 2008. Headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the company is a successor to his previous

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American record label and music management company founded in 1994 by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Carter issued his debut album, '' Reasonable Doubt ...

label, with additional offices in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It serves as a record label,

talent agency A talent agency is a company that represents actors, authors, musicians, model (person), models, professional athlete, athletes, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various industries. Talent agencies specialize, either by creating dep ...

, media production firm and clothing line along with educational and

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

programs. It is a subsidiary of

Live Nation Entertainment Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It promotes, operates and manages ticket sales for live entertainment internation ...

History

In 2008, Roc Nation was founded by Jay-Z with the intent of signing pop and hip hop artists, succeeding his previous label,

. 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 A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

dedicated to sports representation for professional athletes. Shortly thereafter, Roc Nation Sports also launched a boxing promotion division. After the

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

deal expired, in April 2013, Roc Nation signed a multi-year partnership with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

. In February 2015, Roc Nation And Three Six Zero Group announced the formation of Three Six Zero Entertainment, a management division representing clients in film, television, and the literary arts. In July 2017, Roc Nation supported Wu Network for a short time. It is a company that does similar things and began to push the app www.wunetnow.net. In July 2017, Roc Nation collaborated with art collective MSFTSrep. In August 2019, Roc Nation announced a long-term partnership with the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. The company will be the live-music entertainment strategist for the league, as well as augment social justice efforts through the Inspire Change initiative. In December 2020, it was announced that Roc Nation and

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

had teamed up to launch a new publishing imprint, Roc Lit 101. In 2021, Roc Nation teamed up with

American Greetings American Greetings Corporation is a privately held American company and is the world's second largest greeting card producer behind Hallmark Cards. Based in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland, the company sells paper greeting ...

to create custom greeting cards. Roc Nation also announced plans to launch a new brand and multimedia platform named EDITION in partnership with Modern Luxury Media.

Notable artists

* Ambré * Belly *

Buju Banton Mark Anthony Myrie (born 15 July 1973),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, known professionally as Buju Banton, is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae singer. He is one of the most significant and well-re ...

* Casanova *

Clipse Clipse, also known as the Clipse, is an American hip-hop, hip hop duo from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Formed in 1994, it consists of brothers No Malice, Gene "Malice" and Pusha T, Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during t ...

* Claye * Dixson * Dorothy * Farina *

Harloe Jessica Ashley Karpov (born July 10, 1992), better known as Harloe (stylized in all caps), is an American singer and songwriter, based in Los Angeles. In addition to her career as a recording artist, Karpov co-wrote and co-produced four songs on ...

* Harry Hudson * Infinity Song * J. Cole * Jaden * Jay Electronica *

* Jess Glynne * Kalan.FrFr * Kirby Lauryen * Major Myjah * Mozart La Para * Nicole Bus *

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice, Malice. M ...

* Rapsody *

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

* Snoh Aalegra *

Tainy Marco Efraín Masís Fernández (; born August 9, 1989), known professionally as Tainy, is a Puerto Rican record producer, songwriter and record engineer. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he entered the world of reggaeton with his wor ...

* The Anxiety * The Lox *

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

* Kay Young

Management

Makhadzi Ndivhudzannyi Ralivhona (born 30 June 1996), known by her stage name Makhadzi, is a South African singer, songwriter and dancer. Born and raised in Ha-Mashamba, Limpopo, her career began at the age of 12 as dancer prior to pursuing a music caree ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

* Shandesh PSR * Janesh * Kharishma *

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

* Papa Penny * Bohnes * Chon *

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

* Clarissa Molina * Claudia Leitte *

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), known professionally as Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's WQHT, Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed ...

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

* Fred Ball * Hit-Boy * Jadakiss * Jess Glynne * Jim Jones * Jozzy * Kaash Paige * Kamaiyah *

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

* Key Wane * Lil Uzi Vert * Lola Ponce * Maxo Kream * Miguel * Mustard *

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Megan initially gained recognition when videos of her freestyling began to circulate widely on social me ...

* Rapman * Rihanna * Rival Sons * Robin Thicke * Spiritbox *

Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...

Statik Selektah Patrick Owen Baril (born January 23, 1982), professionally known as Statik Selektah, is an American record producer, disc jockey (DJ) and radio personality originally from the Boston, Massachusetts area. He is also the founder of Showoff Records ...

* The Lox * The-Dream *

Tinashe Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe ( ; born February 6, 1993), known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena, California, as a child, where she pursued w ...

Touché Amoré Touché Amoré is an American post-hardcore band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2007. Since 2010, the band has consisted of vocalist Jeremy Bolm, guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt, bassist Tyler Kirby, and drummer Elliot Ba ...

* We Came as Romans *

Westside Gunn Alvin Lamar Worthy (born July 27, 1982), known professionally as Westside Gunn, is an American Rapping, rapper and fashion designer. He co-founded the Independent record label, hip-hop record label Griselda Records in 2012 with his paternal half- ...

Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, singer, and record executive. Rooted in Memphis rap, he released five independent albums—''Youngsta's on a Come Up'' (1996), ''From da Dope ...

Former artists

* Alexa Goddard * Alexis Jordan * Bridget Kelly * Ceraadi *

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

* Gabi DeMartino *

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

* Haim *

Inna Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu (born 16 October 1986), known professionally as Inna (stylized in all caps), is a Romanian singer. Born in Mangalia and raised in Neptun, Romania, Neptun, she studied political science at Ovidius University before ...

* Jarren Benton *

Jay Park Jay Park (born April 25, 1987), Korean name Park Jae-beom (), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and dancer based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based breakdancing, b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM), and founder and former ...

* K Koke *

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

* Kyle Watson *

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

* Mack Wilds * M.I.A. *

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group the Blo ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

* Mayaeni *

Nasty C Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo (born 11 February 1997), known professionally as Nasty C, is a South African rapper, songwriter, and record producer. After releasing three mixtapes, and two Extended play, EPs, Ngcobo released his debut album ' ...

Nick Jonas Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...

* Q Da Fool *

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...

* ROMANS *

Romeo Santos Anthony "Romeo" Santos (born July 21, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who is best known as the frontman and lead vocalist of the Bachata (music), bachata group Aventura (band), Aventura. In 2002, the song "Obsesión ...

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

* Sugababes * T.I. *

Tiwa Savage Tiwatope Omolara Savage (born 5 February 1980), known professionally as Tiwa Savage (), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. Savage sings in English, Nigerian Pidgin and Yoruba; her music is a blend of afrobeats, R&B, afropop, p ...

Vic Mensa Victor Kwesi Mensah (born June 6, 1993), known professionally as Vic Mensa, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, he was a member of the regional hip hop groups Kids These Days (band), Kids These Days and Savemoney prior to releasing ...

* Wale * Yellow Claw

Publishing

* Jahlil Beats * Lab Ox * Ludwig Göransson * Symbolyc One * Stress *

Arrive

Roc Nation also operates an in-house

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

arm called Arrive, which is led by Neil Sirni, the group's co-founder and president. As of May 2021, the company had reportedly made 29 investments in

fintech Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...

, insurtech, edtech, health and wellness, social media, and gaming.

Roc Nation Distribution

In 2018, Roc Nation launched an independent label named Equity Distribution. The first artist to release a project under the independent label was Jay-Z's mentor, Jaz-O. In 2019, Equity also acquired the rights to Jay-Z's 1996 debut ''

Reasonable Doubt Beyond (a) reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the standard of balance of probabilities (US English: preponderance of ...

'' for release on digital and streaming platforms. In 2024, Equity Distribution and Roc Nation Records were merged to form Roc Nation Distribution.

Roc Nation School

In August 2020, Roc Nation partnered with

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

to begin a program called the Roc Nation School for Music, Sports, and Entertainment. Promising lectures from high-profile musical artists, instruction began in late 2021. The school gave students

scholarships A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need, research ...

and falsely told them they would "graduate without tudentdebt". More than a dozen students from the first year saying they unexpectedly owed Long Island University thousands of dollars. Additionally, students reported that, instead of being provided a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

, they had to build one themselves. Celebrity guests advertised to students did not end up speaking.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Jay-Z 2008 establishments in New York City Companies based in Manhattan Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States Mass media companies based in New York City Music production companies Music publishing companies of the United States Record labels based in New York (state) Pop record labels Publishing companies established in 2008 Record labels established in 2008 Contemporary R&B record labels Talent agencies of the United States Television production companies of the United States American hip-hop record labels Government watchdog groups in the United States