Roc-A-Fella Archives - Rolling Out

Back in the late 1990s, Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Jay-Z was completely infatuated with rising superstar singer Aaliyah, Dame Dash revealed in a recent interview. The source of Jay’s and Dash’s estranged business relationship has always been a mystery to older pop culture observers. Perhaps this could have been one of the flashpoints that led to…

The subplots coming out of the “Surviving R. Kelly” documentary are becoming just as intriguing as the source material. The latest plot twist comes in the form of Dame Dash continuing his campaign to completely distance himself from R. Kelly and his past collaborative relationship with former Roc-A-Fella Records business partner Jay-Z. In a recent sit-down with Nick…

The music business that consumers interact with today was built by crusaders who were unapologetic in their quest for creative control. Street lessons were the itinerary for navigating through the shallow waters of the music game. Early pioneers such as J Prince and Master P provided the blueprint for the do-it-yourself mentality in music. This…

Kareem Biggs Burke

“Celebrating the [Roc-A-Fella] brand we built twenty years ago has been great but a little different. Now it’s time to tell my point of view.” Kareem ‘Biggs’ Burke says this assuredly as he thinks back to the Reasonable Doubt anniversary pop-up shop he hosted in October 2016. Surrounded by friends, family and co-founder Jay Z, Biggs…

Neef Buck, born Hanif Muhammad, is an American rapper from Philly. Once a part of the Grammy-nominated duo rap group Young Gunz signed with Roc-A-Fella Records and Beanie Sigel’s State Property, Buck and partner Young Chris produced the chart-topping songs “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” and “No Better Love” feat. Rell. Buck then decided to further…

Co-founder of Roc-A-Fella records Kareem “Biggs” Burke recently celebrated the launch of Fourth of November with a fashion show and artist showcase in Atlanta. The event was curated by Eastmen Collective and The Nehemiah Group with Atlanta-based artists serving as designers for the featured denim jackets. Attendees included Roc Nation’s Emory Jones, DTP’s Chaka Zulu,…

When most people think of kidney failure or picture someone having to endure kidney dialysis treatments, they tend to picture someone older but the truth of the matter is kidney issues are not age discriminatory. Former Roc-A-Fella rapper Freeway learned that lesson the hard way when his kidneys were discovered to be failing during a…

Malcolm “Wais P” Byer, one half of ’90s rap group Da Ranjahz, who were once signed to Jay Z’s now defunct Roc-A-Fella umbrella label, Carter Faculty, was arrested last week and charged with promoting prostitution. The 41-year-old rapper, who appeared on the song “If I Should Die” from Jay Z’s 1998 classic Vol. 2…Hard Knock…

Just this past summer former Roc-A-Fella CEO Dame Dash had some not quite so nice things to say about former protégé Kanye West. Contrary to popular belief it was Dash who fought for West during his early Roc-A-Fella days as it took awhile for Jay Z to warm up to him. Nonetheless, it appears Dash…

Dame Dash reiterated recently that he doesn’t approve of Kanye West turning his back on a man who helped him forge his career.

Dame Dash called out hip-hop superstar Kanye West in a recent interview with Shade 45’s VIP Saturdays. Dash was instrumental in Kanye’s early career, and the former Roc-A-Fella CEO admitted that he was angry with Kanye over the star’s lack of support for Kareem “Biggs” Burke, the label co-founder who was recently incarcerated on a number of charges.

Rihanna has long been the very personification of her self-anointed alter ego “Bad Girl RiRi.” The moniker will likely continue as we digest a leaked old photo that got splashed all over the internet by former Roc-a-Fella rapper Christopher “Young Chris” Reis. In the salacious photograph, Rihanna is butt-naked and straddling the rapper aboard a…

The hills and valleys of Dame Dash’s career have been well-documented. In the last several years, fans have witnessed Dash’s fall; from amongst the top-tier hip-hop moguls to an industry footnote struggling through financial and legal hardship. In a recent interview with VladTV, superproducer Just Blaze shared his perspective on the Roc-A-Fella co-founder’s decline.

The estranged friends finally reunited for the first time publicly in over eight years. Both Jay and Dame showed up at the birthday party for former Roc-A-Fella staffer, Chaka Pilgrim, in New York City.

Jay-Z visited New York City’s Hot 97 yesterday (July 10th) for the first time in more than two years. With most of the interview dealing with his new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, fatherhood, his superstar wife Beyonce, and his touring plans; host Angie Martinez eventually asked the hip-hop superstar about his former Roc-A-Fella Records partner, Dame Dash

Dame Dash talked about his former Roc-A-Fella Records partner Jay- Z and their highly-publicized split in 2004

As Jay-Z continues to rise, his former running mates continue to struggle in their life after Hov. While Dame Dash is facing financial struggles based on bad business dealings, the other member of the Roc-A-Fella founding triumvirate, Kareem “Biggs” Burke, is now headed to jail. As a co-founder of Roc-A-Fella, Biggs was always seen as the…

Weeks after former Roc-A-Fella rapper Beanie Sigel revealed that he never apologized to his former mentor and friend Jay-Z for his infamous beef with the mogul, the Philadelphia emcee is now revealing that once Roc-A-Fella Records split, Jay-Z blocked him from signing a new record deal with 50 Cent’s G-Unit Records. In a recent interview…

Two years ago, former Roc-A-Fella artist Beanie Sigel shocked the hip-hop community when he began openly dissing his former label head and friend Jay-Z in his rhymes. Now, after having quashed the feud, the Philadelphia rapper is sharing details about his falling out with Jay-Z and his lingering anger toward the hip-hop mogul. In an…