Roc Nation is a record label, management, music publishing and entertainment company founded under Jay-Z.

History[link]

In April 2008, Live Nation partnered with Jay-Z to create Roc Nation.^[1][2][3] Roc Nation has a record label named Star Roc and an entertainment company named Takeover Roc Nation, located in the United Kingdom, and it also covers Europe; the company releases records with Sony Music Entertainment and partners with Live Nation.^[4][5]

Artists[link]

Signed artists[link]

Managed artists[link]

• K Koke^[17][18]
• M.I.A.^[19]
• Mark Ronson^[20][21]
• Melanie Fiona^[22][23][24]
• Meek Mill^[25]
• Rihanna^[26][27][28]
• Santigold^[29]
• Shakira^[30]
• The Ting Tings^[31][32][33]
• Wale^[34]

Managed songwriters[link]

• Andrea Martin^[35]
• Carmen Key^[36]
• Chase J^[37]
• Clay Morrison^[38]
• Ester Dean^[39]
• James Fauntleroy II^[40]
• J Angel^[41]
• Makeba Riddick^[42][43]
• Philip Lawrence^[44]

Managed producers[link]

• Ben Harrison^[45]
• Chase & Status^[46][47]
• Clay Morrison^[38]
• Dave McCracken^[48]
• Deputy^[49]
• Jahlil Beats^[50][51]
• Lab Ox^[52]
• Music Kidz^[53]
• No I.D.^[54]
• Noisia^[55]
• Peter Ibsen^[56]
• S1^[57]
• Shux^[58]
• Stargate^[59]
• Switch^[60]

Managed DJs[link]

• Harley Viera-Newton^[61]
• Mark Ronson^[62]
• Samantha Ronson^[63]
• Solange Knowles^[64]

Audio engineers[link]

• Marcos Torvar^[65]
• Rob Kinelski^[66]

Mixing/Mastering engineers[link]

• Dave Pensado^[67]
• Kevin "KD" Davis^[68]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• See Roc Nation albums discography

Singles[link]

• See Roc Nation singles discography

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website — RocNation.com

A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, or history.^[1] In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government (for example the inhabitants of a sovereign state) irrespective of their ethnic make-up.^[2][3] In international relations, nation can refer to a country or sovereign state.^[1] The word nation can more specifically refer to people of North American Indians, such as the Cherokee Nation that prefer this term over the contested term tribe.^[1]

According to Joseph Stalin writing in 1913 in Marxism and the National Question: "a nation is not a racial or tribal, but a historically constituted community of people;" "a nation is not a casual or ephemeral conglomeration, but a stable community of people;" "a common language is one of the characteristic features of a nation;" "a nation is formed only as a result of lengthy and systematic intercourse, as a result of people living together generation after generation;" "a common territory is one of the characteristic features of a nation;" "a common economic life, economic cohesion, is one of the characteristic features of a nation;" "a common psychological make-up, which manifests itself in a common culture, is one of the characteristic features of a nation;" "A nation is a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture." According to Stalin, this would exclude Jews as they have no common territory.^[4]

An alternative view, expressed by Otto Bauer, author of Social Democracy and the Nationalities Question (1907), that "A nation is an aggregate of people bound into a community of character by a common destiny." would include Jews. R. Springer, author of The National Problem (1909), also cited by Stalin in his discussion of this matter, held similar views.^[4]

Etymology[link]

The word nation came to English from the Old French word nacion, which in turn originates from the Latin word natio (nātĭō) literally meaning "that which has been born".^[5]

As an example of how the word natio was employed in classical Latin, the following quote from Cicero's Philippics Against Mark Antony in 44 BC contrasts the external, inferior nationes ("races of people") with the Roman civitas ("community"):

"Omnes nationes servitutem ferre possunt: nostra civitas non potest."
("All races are able to bear enslavement, but our community cannot.")

— Cicero, Orationes: Pro Milone, Pro Marcello, Pro Ligario, Pro rege Deiotaro, Philippicae I-XIV^[6]

An early example of the use of the word "nation" (in conjunction with language and territory) was provided in 968 by Liutprand (the bishop of Cremona) who, while confronting the Byzantine emperor, Nicephorus II, on behalf of his patron Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, declared:

"The land...which you say belongs to your empire belongs, as the nationality and language of the people proves, to the kingdom of Italy.'"

— Liutprand, Relatio de legatione Constantinopolitana ad Nicephorum Phocam ^[7]

[edit] Medieval nationes

A significant early use of the term nation, as natio, occurred at mediaeval universities^[8] to describe the colleagues in a college or students, above all at the University of Paris, who were all born within a pays, spoke the same language and expected to be ruled by their own familiar law. In 1383 and 1384, while studying theology at Paris, Jean Gerson was elected twice as a procurator for the French natio. The University of Prague adopted the division of students into nationes: from its opening in 1349 the studium generale which consisted of Bohemian, Bavarian, Saxon and Polish nations.

In a similar way, the nationes were segregated by the Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem, who maintained at Rhodes the hostels from which they took their name "where foreigners eat and have their places of meeting, each nation apart from the others, and a Knight has charge of each one of these hostels, and provides for the necessities of the inmates according to their religion", as the Spanish traveller Pedro Tafur noted in 1436.^[9]

See also[link]

References[link]

kn

Roc may refer to:

• Roc (mythology), a mythical giant bird

People[link]

• Roch, fourteenth century Occitan saint called Roc in Catalan
• Agustí Roc, Spanish ski mountaineer
• Margaret Roc, Australian author
• Patricia Roc, British actress
• Ste V Roc, Irish hip-hop artist
• Roc Alexander, American football player
• Roche Braziliano, also spelled Roc, 17th century Dutch pirate
• Roc Kirby, Australian businessman
• Roc Oliva, Spanish field hockey player
• Roc Raida, American disc jockey, turntablist and producer

Places[link]

• Roč, a town in Croatia
• Le Roc, a commune in France

Companies[link]

• Roc Oil Company, based in Sydney, Australia
• Roc Books, a paperback science fiction and fantasy imprint of Penguin Group

Entertainment[link]

• Roc (Dungeons & Dragons), a role-playing version of the mythical bird
• Roc (TV series), an American sitcom which aired 1991 – 1994
• R.O.C. (band)
• "Roc" (song), from Nâdiya's eponymous album

Other uses[link]

• Blackburn Roc, a British naval fighter-bomber and turret fighter aircraft of World War II
• Stratolaunch carrier aircraft, Scaled Composites Model 351, nicknamed "Roc"
• IATA airport code for Greater Rochester International Airport
• Roc, the name of the University of Pittsburgh's costumed panther mascot (see Panthers of Pittsburgh)

As an acronym or initialism[link]

ROC or R.O.C. may refer to:

In geography:

• Republic of China, now commonly known as "Taiwan"
• Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville)
• Republic of Cuba
• Rest of Canada, slang for Canada excluding Quebec
• Rochester, New York, as a colloquialism based on its IATA airport code

In finances:

• Rate of change (technical analysis)
• Return on capital

In biochemistry and medicine:

• Receptor-operated calcium channel
• Rocuronium, a drug used in medical anesthesia
• Saquinavir, an antiretroviral drug used to treat HIV
• ROC, a domain in some genes, standing for Ras Of Complex proteins.

In mathematics:

• Region of convergence (relates to the Laplace transform)
• Radius of curvature (disambiguation), various meanings
• Receiver operating characteristic, ROC curve (signal detection theory or epidemiology)

Organizations:

• Regional Organisations of Councils, voluntary groupings of neighbouring councils in Australia
• Right of Centre, a short-lived New Zealand political party
• Russian Olympic Committee
• Russian Orthodox Church
• Romanian Orthodox Church
• Royal Observer Corps, branch of the RAF and British air raid warning organisation (1926 to 1957), nuclear burst and fallout warning organisation (1957–1995), now disbanded
• Richmond Outreach Centre, a controversial church
• Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium, a network of clinical trial sites
• Regional Operations Center, a network of nine Federal Aviation Administration (US) Command Control Communication Centers

In sports:

• Race of Champions, motorsport event combining track and rally drivers
• Race of Champions (Brands Hatch), non-championship Formula One motor race in United Kingdom between 1967 and 1979, and again in 1983, the final non-championship F1 race
• Race of Champions (Modified), a yearly stock car race using modified race cars

In entertainment:

• Reign of Chaos, a Warcraft computer game developed by Blizzard Entertainment
• Rise of Cobra a GI Joe movie

Other uses:

• Resource-oriented computing
• Registrar of Companies
• Remote Operations Center
• Renewables Obligation Certificates, used in the UK's electricity supply industry

See also[link]

• ROCS (disambiguation)
• Rok (disambiguation)
• Rock (disambiguation)
• Roque (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Rita Ora
Background information
Birth name	Rita Sahatçiu Ora
Born	(1990-11-26) November 26, 1990 (age 21) Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia (present day Kosovo[a])
Origin	West London, England, UK.[1]
Genres	R&B, pop, soul , smooth jazz
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actress
Instruments	Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Roc Nation
Website	ritaora.com rocnation.com/ritaora

Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born 26 November 1990), better known as Rita Ora, is a British singer-songwriter and actress.^[2][3] In 2009, she appeared on the BBC's Eurovision: Your Country Needs You where she auditioned to be the British contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.^[1] Later in 2009, she signed to Roc Nation. Ora is of Kosovar Albanian ethnicity.

In 2012, Ora provided the vocals for DJ Fresh’s "Hot Right Now", which has been the fastest selling single in the UK of 2012.^[4] Ora's debut single, "R.I.P", topped the UK Singles Chart in May 2012.^[5] Ora will spend the summer 2012 opening concerts for Coldplay.^[6]

Biography[link]

Early life and career beginnings[link]

Rita Ora was born in Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia (now Kosovo^[a]) and moved to the United Kingdom the same year of her birth. She grew up in West London and attended St Cuthbert with St Matthias CE Primary School in Earls Court, following which she graduated from Sylvia Young Theatre School and then St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College. She began singing from a young age.^[7][8] In 2004, she appeared in the British film Spivs.^[9] She auditioned for Eurovision: Your Country Needs You on BBC One to be the British contestant for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest^[1][10] but later withdrew from the competition after a few episodes as she did not feel ready.^[1]

In 2007, Ora had her first music release when she appeared on Craig David's track entitled "Awkward"^[11] and then again in 2008 on "Where's Your Love" featuring Tinchy Stryder, for which she also appears in the music video.^[12] Ora began singing in bars in and around London, and in 2009 a A&R told Roc Nation about Ora, a few days after Ora flew out to New York and met Jay Z.^[13] In 2009, Ora made a cameo on Jay-Z's video for "Young Forever" and "Over" by Drake. Ora caught the attention of Jay-Z and he signed her to Roc Nation, for which she was featured in a commercial for Roc Nation + Skullcandy Aviator Headphones.^[14][15]

2011–present: debut album[link]

Throughout 2011, Ora released viral videos of herself working on her debut album.^[16] On 14 December 2011, DJ Fresh and Ora released the music video for "Hot Right Now" on YouTube.^[17] The single was released on 12 February 2012 and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.^[4]

On 24 February 2012, Ora visited New York's Z100 radio station alongside her Roc Nation label boss Jay-Z, to premiere "How We Do (Party)", her debut single and the lead single from her upcoming studio album. "How We Do (Party)" borrows its familiar refrain from The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Party and Bullshit".^[18]

She has been recording her first studio album for two years. will.i.am, Ester Dean, Drake, The-Dream, Kanye West and Stargate are all working with Ora on her debut album.^[19][20]

When speaking about the sound of the album and its concept, Ora said it "definitely has pop in it, but (...) you can hear influences of jazz in there, you can hear influences of Monica and Aaliyah, and then you can hear Gwen Stefani.”^[21] She has also stated the album will be influenced by her father's record colllection which, in addition to reggae, also includes such artists as Eric Clapton and B.B. King.^[22] She confirmed the tracks "Roc the Life", "Love at War", "Facemelt" and "Shine Ya Light" to be featured on her debut album.^{[23] [24]}

Her first solo record, "R.I.P." featuring Tinie Tempah, was released as her first UK single on 6 May 2012.^[25] The video directed by Emil Nava was recorded in Hackney, East London, and released on 4 April 2012.^[26] Produced by Chase & Status, the song debuted at the top of the UK Singles Chart, becoming her first solo UK number 1, and second overall.^[5] In May, Ora became a guest judge on the ninth series of the X Factor in the UK, with the auditions filmed at the O2 Arena, London.^[27] In summer 2012, Ora will be opening stadiums for Coldplay.^[6]

Artistry[link]

Influences[link]

Ora credits Gwen Stefani as her idol and biggest influence, saying in an interview “Do you know how much I love that woman? I love everything about her."^[13] Ora has also named Beyoncé as a major influence and a mentor, in addition to talking about her admiration at being able to have one of her idols, Beyoncé, give her feedback on her debut album.^[20] Her other musical influences include Aaliyah, India Arie, Christina Aguilera, Brandy, Monica, Madonna, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Celine Dion, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Vybz Kartel and Sade.^[13][28] Ora has mentioned her admiration for Rita Hayworth as an early inspiration for wanting to pursue an acting career.^[29]

For fashion inspirations, Ora also cites Gwen Stefani^[30] as her most influential style icon. In addition to Stefani, Ora has drawn great inspiration stylistically from Marilyn Monroe and Daphne Guinness through fashionable trends in both vintage clothing and retro wear.^[31][32]

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

As featured artist[link]

Guest appearances[link]

She has appeared in 2 songs of James Morrison's album Songs for You, Truths for Me as backing vocal

Music videos[link]

Cameo appearances[link]

Filmography[link]

Notes and references[link]

Notes:

References:

External links[link]

• Official website
• Information

Timothy Elpadaro Thedford (born September 19, 1976), better known by his stage name Jay Electronica, is an American hip hop recording artist and record producer, currently based in London, United Kingdom.^[2] Jay Electronica first gained significant attention after the release of the musical composition Act I: Eternal Sunshine (the pledge), made available on a MySpace page in 2007. It is fifteen continuous minutes of music, without drums, built from Jon Brion's soundtrack to the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In late 2009 he released two songs, both produced by Just Blaze, "Exhibit A (Transformations)" and "Exhibit C" the latter of which won a Sucker Free Summit Award for Instant Classic. On November 12, 2010, it was announced Jay Electronica had become an official member of Jay-Z's Roc Nation record label.^[3]

Biography[link]

1976-2006: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Thedford was born on September 19, 1976, in the Magnolia Projects of New Orleans, a place where the crime rate was infamous throughout the country before 2005, when the projects were flooded during Hurricane Katrina. Thedford began rapping after hearing his nephew Akeem Pryor rhyme. By the age of 19 Jay Electronica left New Orleans to pursue his musical career. Living a mostly nomadic lifestyle, he found refuge in cities such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, New York, and briefly in Atlanta. From club to club, and stage to stage, Electronica had gotten booed off and denied because of his Southern accent and slang. "In my earlier years from when I first left home, I was embarrassed from being from the South," Thedford stated. "Not in general, but as a rapper because all of the negative things that people in the States put on the South."^[4] Electronica’s career really took form in the city of Detroit when he linked up with Detroit native Johnnie Last, a friend he had spent a lot of time with at Darp Studios in Atlanta, GA. Detroit is where Electronica met producer/engineer Mike "Chav" Chavarria, who introduced him to both J. Dilla and Mr. Porter, and who is now a regular collaborator.^[5][6] Detroit, where he recorded his Style Wars-era music with several J. Dilla beats, meeting the producer subsequently to ask for permission to use the recordings as a demo.

[edit] 2007-2010: Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) and signing with Roc Nation

Jay Electronica first gained significant attention through Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), made available on a MySpace page in 2007. It is nine continuous minutes of music, without drums, built from Jon Brion's soundtrack to the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. There are five segments or movements marked by changes in music and mood, raps by Electronica, and occasional snippets of sampled dialogue including scenes from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The first segment is a spoken word piece by Just Blaze and Erykah Badu describing Electronica over piano music.

The nature of the piece of music, along with the nature of its appearance, led to a slow build-up of interest in Electronica as an enigmatic figure. Songs circulating online as the Style Wars EP gained wider circulation, and other songs, such as the dream-inspired "Dimethyltryptamine", soon appeared. In January 2008, Giles Peterson's 90-minute Gilles Peterson Worldwide was devoted to the rapper.^[7] Hiphopdx.com in 2008 called him "arguably...the most talked about new emcee last year ... at times...more like a myth or urban legend than an actual rapper",^[8] and URB ran a cover story on the artist under the banner "Jay Electronica: A Spotless Mind :: An MC’s mystery revealed", which referred to his wanderings as his being "like some sort of hip-hop Jack Kerouac".^[5]

Jeff Weiss' piece for the L.A. Weekly, "Jay Electronica: Much Better Than His Name Would Suggest", acknowledged that the rapper could be fairly described as "one of the most buzzed about rappers of 2008", but attempted to temper the hype somewhat, describing Act 1... as "ambitious, wildly original, if not slightly pretentious", while endorsing only to an extent the comparisons URB had made (referencing an "abstract rhyming style") to rappers like Nas and Pharoahe Monch.^[9][10]

[edit] 2010-present: Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn)

Jay Electronica has yet to release a full-length album, but he has released two official singles to date, "Exhibit A" and "Exhibit C", which won a Sucker Free Summit Award for Instant Classic. His music so far has been made available through the internet, either through being leaked to what URB magazine describes as "obscure web forums", or through an appearing and disappearing Myspace page (currently two seem to be in existence, at /jayelect and at /jayelectronica). Erykah Badu has questioned whether he ever will release, in her words, "actual albums".^[5] From New Orleans, LA he has lived in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Denver, and Detroit, where he recorded his Style Wars-era music with several J Dilla beats, meeting the producer subsequently to ask for permission to use the recordings as a demo. Jay met producer/engineer Mike "Chav" Chavarria in Detroit, the latter introducing him to both J Dilla and Mr. Porter, and who is now a regular collaborator.^[5][11]

According to URB, Act II: Patents of Nobility will feature Nas, and will be the second of a putative trilogy. URB also reported that digital EPs with both Guilty Simpson and producer 9th Wonder were planned. According to a Filter TV interview,^[12] Jay Electronica has partnered with Decon to release his debut project. It is being described as a multi-media release and footage from the project which was partially shot in Nepal and Dubai has begun to surface online. The first clip to leak is titled "Dear Moleskine" and can be found on YouTube, the track was produced by Just Blaze and the clip was directed by Jason Goldwatch from Decon. In June 2009, Decon and Jay's "The Dogon Society" released "Exhibit A" digitally. "Exhibit C" was released on iTunes December 16, 2009 and quickly shot to the top 10 of the iTunes Hip-Hop charts. The following week it was chosen by Hot 97's Dj Enuff as the Heavy Hitter pick of the week.

Jay Electronica appeared at the 2010 Bonnaroo Music Festival. Jay Electronica continued his scattered release practice, releasing "A Million In The Morning" on April 4, 2010. The song features a weary Electronica trying to keep himself awake to escape his nightmares.^[13] On April 30, Jay Electronica debuted "The Ghost of Christopher Wallace" via his Twitter. The song features P Diddy and is produced by London beatsmith Quincey Tones, who is known for producing such acts as Young Jeezy and Royce da 5'9".

On November 12, 2010, Jay-Z announced that Jay Electronica was officially the newest member of his own 'Roc Nation' record label/management company, which boasts such acts as J. Cole, and Willow Smith. Before signing to Roc Nation in 2010, Jay Electronica was a prospective signee of Bad Boy Records, a label owned by producer/rapper/entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs.^[14]

In late 2010, he and Lucy Liu were featured on The Bullitts' track "Close Your Eyes". It was BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe's 'record of the week' and will feature on The Bullitts upcoming album set for release in 2011. Then in July 2011, he produced and was featured on the track "Run & Hide", which will be on the same album.

In July 2011, Jay Electronica posted via his twitter that his debut album, "Act II: Patents Of Nobility (the turn)," was complete.^[15] On October 10, 2011, Jay Electronica released the song Call Of Duty, featuring Prodigy from Mobb Deep. He stated that this single would not be on his album. On March 8th, 2012, Jay Electronica tweeted that the album is complete and will be turned in to Roc Nation ^[16]

Personal life[link]

Jay Electronica and Erykah Badu have one child together, Mars Merkaba Thedford, born on February 1, 2009.^[17] He is a member of the Five Percent Nation.^[18]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn) (TBA)
• Act III: The Last Will & Testament Of Timothy Elpadaro Thedford (The Prestige) (TBA)

EPs[link]

• Style Wars EP (2007)

Mixtapes[link]

• Act I: Eternal Sunshine (the pledge) (2007)

Singles[link]

As lead artist[link]

As featured artist[link]

Guest appearances[link]

Production discography[link]

2008[link]

[edit] Nas - Untitled

• 01. "Queens Get the Money"
  • Sample Credit: John Powell - "I Am Sam (Theme)"

External links[link]

• :::::::Magnetik7::::::: (come on in, the water's fine.) - Official web site (inactive since 2005)^[19][20][21]
• Jay Electronica Official News Source
• Jay Electronica Fan Website(domain expired)
• Jay Electronica (JayElectronica) on Twitter
• URB Jay Electronica cover (left) (.gif)
• Giles Peterson Worldwide (.mp3, 80MB) - Lengthy interview and music
• Jay Electronica video interview on redbullmusicacademy.com
• Just Blaze, Jay Electronica, & Mike "Chav" Chavarria - An Interview with Jay, Chav, & Just Blaze
• Exclaim! magazine interview with Jay Electronica-Exclaim!

Sources[link]