roc nation Archives

JAY-Z & Roc Nation Took A Big Stand For The Boy Who Sat For The Pledge Of Allegiance

In 2019, JAY-Z is as much a social activist as he is MC, entrepreneur, Puma executive, and social influencer. While Shawn Carter has been close to many issues, especially in the last 15 years, he and Roc Nation are bringing change to families and circumstances that relate to the interests... Read more

March 6, 2019 Lifestyle, News

J. Cole Is Hunting Rappers & Keeping Their Heads As Trophies (Video)

One month ago, J. Cole opened his 2019 with "Middle Child." After some cryptic messaging leading into the T-Minus-produced song, Cole delivered on January 23 with some words aimed at those who doubt him. “Ni**as been countin’ me out, I’m countin’ my bullets / I’m loadin’ my clips / I’m... Read more

February 25, 2019 Video

JAY-Z & Beyoncé’s Win Brings New Light To A Grammy Category

JAY-Z won his first Grammy Award in four years last night (February 10). Like Shawn Carter's two 2015 wins, it was a shared prize with his wife, Beyoncé. The Carters' 2018 surprise LP, EVERYTHING IS LOVE took home the honors for "Best Urban Contemporary Album." The category launched in 2013.... Read more

February 11, 2019 News

Vic Mensa Says Biggie Knew Who Shot Pac & Suge Knew Who Shot Big In A Fiery Freestyle

As has been the case throughout the last five years, Vic Mensa had a busy 2018. The Chicagoan showed no signs of slowing down or taking a pause this year, both in terms of making music and staying in some headlines. Mensa released Hooligans on Roc Nation. The eight-song release... Read more

December 28, 2018 Video

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2018 (Battle 14): J. Cole vs. Evidence

We have our opinions on the best releases of 2018, but rather than simply tell you our pick for #1, we thought it would be more interesting to hear what you, the readers, believe is the Best Rap Album of 2018. With that in mind, we decided to make our... Read more

December 27, 2018 Best Rap Album 2018

You Have Decided The Final 4 Best Albums Of 2018. Here They Are.

We have our opinions on the best releases of 2018, but rather than simply tell you our pick for #1, we thought it would be more interesting to hear what you, the readers, believe is the Best Rap Album of 2018. With that in mind, we decided to make our... Read more

December 21, 2018 Best Rap Album 2018

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2018 (Battle 11): J. Cole vs. Mac Miller

We have our opinions on the best releases of 2018, but rather than simply tell you our pick for #1, we thought it would be more interesting to hear what you, the readers, believe is the Best Rap Album of 2018. With that in mind, we decided to make our... Read more

December 19, 2018 Best Rap Album 2018

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2018 (Battle 4): J. Cole vs. Phonte

We have our opinions on the best releases of 2018, but rather than simply tell you our pick for #1, we thought it would be more interesting to hear what you, the readers, believe is the Best Rap Album of 2018. With that in mind, we decided to make our... Read more

December 10, 2018 Best Rap Album 2018

J. Cole’s KOD May Be The Year’s Best Album & It Was Snubbed By The Grammys

This morning (December 7), the 2019 Grammy Awards nominations were announced. For fans of Kendrick Lamar and the Top Dawg Entertainment family, it was another exciting development. Even in a year when K-Dot did not release a solo album, he received eight nominations. SZA and Jay Rock joined him with... Read more

December 7, 2018 News

J. Cole Explains Why He Stopped Doing Interviews For Almost 4 Years

J. Cole released a record-breaking 2018 album in the form of KOD. The MC/producer has become a superstar in recent years. He has also assembled one of the most talented record labels, built of hungry rappers and singers. While speaking with Dee Lockett in a Billboard cover story, Cole reveals that... Read more

September 27, 2018 Fresh

An Argument For Why J. Cole’s KOD Is Already The Album Of The Year (Video)

There are three and a half months left in 2018. However, one album has proven to rise from the pack with time, less than six months since its release. J. Cole's KOD is a compelling body of work that stands to be among the best art from a consistent source.... Read more

September 15, 2018 Exclusive, TBD, Video

Jay Electronica Threatens Eminem For Saying Puffy Had Tupac Killed

Earlier today (September 14) Eminem sent shock waves through the Rap community with his latest MGK diss, "Killshot." The second Em offensive aimed at the Cleveland, Ohio rapper in the last three Fridays was in response to the Bad Boy Records artist's "Rap Devil," a scathing reply to Slim Shady's... Read more

September 14, 2018 News

DJ Premier & Casanova Take It Back To The Days Of Gully Hip-Hop (Audio)

DJ Premier has been a go-to sound provider for some of the more vocally aggressive MCs in Hip-Hop. Names like M.O.P., Bumpy Knuckles, Just-Ice, Pitch Black, Ill Bill, and Big Shug have made gems alongside the Gang Starr producer and DJ. In that style of Rap, especially within the five... Read more

July 19, 2018 Audio

Freeway Explains How One Cypher Changed His Career With Roc-A-Fella

On a scorching summer afternoon, Freeway is lounging in a cool recording studio in the Northern Liberties section in the City of Brotherly Love. The smoky lab is in the same high-rise building as accounting firms, law offices, and working folks pausing for a late afternoon snack in the ground... Read more

July 11, 2018 Food for Thought, Interview

Vic Mensa Reminds Why He’s One Of The Best Freestylers Of His Generation (Video)

Almost a year after Vic Mensa dropped his well-received debut album, The Autobiography (included in Ambrosia For Heads' Best-of '17 list), he is still putting in work like he was an unsigned MC. Then, at the top of June, he released the lead single from his sophomore called "Reverse," and... Read more

June 28, 2018 Video

J. Cole’s Passionate Performance Calls For Meditation Instead Of Medication (Video)

Tonight (June 24), J. Cole performed at the 2018 BET Awards. Cole used the televised stage to lead with the introduction to April's K.O.D album. Wale was the first person that viewers saw, sitting on a stage chair, staring at a television. The moment comes a year and a half... Read more

June 24, 2018 Video

The 14 Best Hip-Hop Releases So Far In 2018 (Audio & Video)

Approaching 2018’s midpoint, the year has been absolutely incredible for Hip-Hop and Rap music. For many artists, the album is now shorter than it has ever been. Releases are more concentrated and digestible than they have been been in decades. Moreover, the MC/producer double-threat is winning, as is the chemistry... Read more

June 21, 2018 Food for Thought

JAY-Z Is Now President Of Puma’s Basketball Operations

A little over a decade ago, JAY-Z finished four years as the President of Def Jam Records. Shawn Carter helped give the label that distributed his Roc-A-Fella Records releases a face-lift and was part of signing a new regime that included Rick Ross, Jeezy, The Roots, and Ghostface Killah, among... Read more

June 18, 2018 Lifestyle, News

Takeover: JAY-Z & Beyonce Just Released An Album. It’s Their World Now (Video)

Following two confessional albums that put some vulnerable moments of their relationship and marriage on public display, JAY-Z and Beyoncé unite for a collaborative album. Today (June 16), The Carters released their first ever joint project, a nine-track effort with no warning. The move comes as the superstar couple is... Read more

June 16, 2018 Audio, Video

Jadakiss Explains Why With The LOX It’s Never Been All About The Benjamins (Video)

Twenty years ago, on DMX's "Blackout," Jadakiss spit, "You pay 30 for the 'Kiss, a 100 for The LOX / And if we cool, then I write a hook for a drop." In 1998, Jada' was quoting prices to artists looking for those features to do, as he rapped, "boost... Read more

June 14, 2018 Video

DJ Premier Takes J. Cole’s Lil Rapper Diss & Makes It Even More O.G. (Audio)

One of the focal points of J. Cole's chart-topping 2018 gold album, KOD, is "1985 - Intro To 'The Falloff.'" The song is a wisdom-drenched reply to Lil Pump, Smokepurrp, and others who had defamed Cole's name in recent years. While Jermaine's issues with Pump now appear to be squashed... Read more

May 29, 2018 Audio

J. Cole & Lil Pump End Childish Beef With A Grown Man Conversation (Video)

Five weeks ago, J. Cole released KOD. The now gold-certified #1 album featured Cole responding to his critics. Those critics were not journalists or fans, but rather, peers. Lil Pump and Smokepurrp, two Miami, Florida-based Rap artists had condemned Cole for some time on social media and in songs, most... Read more

May 25, 2018 Video

Rapsody’s Album Continues To Pay Up Soulful Dividends (Video)

A week before the release of her Grammy-nominated album Laila's Wisdom, Rapsody dropped a conceptual single in which she examines the relationship between money and love. "Pay Up" featured her clever wordplay and served as the first offering from the LP without any featured guests. In fact, Rapsody in many ways starred as the... Read more

May 21, 2018 Video

J. Cole Explains Why He Made His 1985 Diss Record Of Lil Rappers (Video)

When J. Cole speaks, it is not to be taken lightly. In recent years, the North Carolina superstar MC/producer and Dreamville label founder has shunned the public eye, or at least many of their questions. After decidedly not allowing interviews altogether for late 2016's 4 Your Eyez Only, Cole posted... Read more

May 16, 2018 Video

J. Cole Is King Of The Charts With 2018’s Best Opening Week

Ten days after KOD released, J. Cole topped the charts as many fans anticipated. The lead marks Cole's fifth consecutive album to reach #1. For the third straight time, the Dreamville Records founder and Roc Nation MC/produced achieved this feat without any guests on his album. KOD, an acronym for Kids... Read more

April 30, 2018 News

J. Cole Reveals Who Kill Edward Is And It’s Deeper Than Rap

On J. Cole's newly-released KOD, there is one guest by the name of kiLL edward. The character appears on two songs: "The Cut Off" and "FRIENDS." These are two powerful cuts on an album that carries three titles: Kids On Drugs, Kill Our Demons, and King Overdose. For an artist... Read more

April 25, 2018 Food for Thought

J. Cole Has Broken The Record For Most First Day Album Streams Ever

On Friday (April 20), J. Cole released his fifth solo album, KOD. The Dreamville/Roc Nation release has people talking, from its thematic "4/20" commentary on drug use to its lesson-filled attack on unnamed peers who have criticized the Fayetteville, North Carolina MC/producer. As chart watchers see if J. Cole will... Read more

April 23, 2018 News

J. Cole Gives A Verbal Beat Down With A Lesson. But Who Is The Target? (Audio)

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let AFH fight through it for you and only supply you with that great stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many ways, is better than it’s ever been. Not only are we able to go back... Read more

April 21, 2018 Audio

J. Cole Has Just Released His New Album. Listen To All Of KOD (Audio)

Mere moments ago, the five time Grammy award nominated-J. Cole dropped K.O.D., his fifth full-length album. Once again approaching his project roll-out in perplexing and unpredictable fashion, Cole shook the Hip-Hop community with an abrupt announcement just four days prior to K.O.D.’s unveiling. With 16 months between his last release (4 Your Eyez Only) and... Read more

April 20, 2018 Audio

J. Cole Is Dropping His Fifth Album Later This Week

J. Cole is one of Hip-Hop's biggest stars. He is also one of the genre's most unpredictable figures. Less than a year and a half after releasing #1 LP 4 Your Eyez Only, the Dreamville founder and Roc Nation artist has announced his fifth album—and it will release this week.... Read more

April 16, 2018 News

Finding The GOAT Group: Clipse vs. The LOX. Who Is Better?

UPDATE: Ambrosia For Heads treats its "Finding The GOAT" battles with the utmost care for accuracy and authentic results. Over the weekend, we detected fraudulent voting in the results of our most recent battle. It was the only battle of the current tournament where voter fraud was identified. To prevent... Read more

April 16, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

Finding The GOAT Group: Clipse vs. The LOX. Who Is Better?

UPDATE: Ambrosia For Heads identified fraud in this poll. A new, 24-hour ballot has been created for this battle using new voting tools. Voting ends Tuesday (April 17) at the new battle poll. “Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual battle series features Hip-Hop’s greatest... Read more

April 13, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

JAY-Z & Diddy Built Empires. Now They Aim To Help Other Black Businesses Grow

JAY-Z and Diddy are two pillars of Black Excellence. These men have built empires that began with music careers, then expanded to record labels, and have extended into apparel, liquor, film, sports, TV, and a host of other ventures at the highest level. Since the '90s, these two men often... Read more

March 20, 2018 Lifestyle, News

Rapsody’s Chrome Video Is About So Much More Than Car-Jacking

Rapsody is proof that an MC can carry on traditions, while still being current and successful. The Snow Hill, North Carolina native is getting the shine that 9th Wonder and JAY-Z knew she deserved years ago when they each signed her to their respective labels. Her soulful but raw lyricism... Read more

February 19, 2018 Video

Black Thought & 9th Wonder Confirm A Collabo Project Is On The Way (Video)

In April of 2016, Black Thought and 9th Wonder released "Making A Murderer," featuring Styles P. Posted online by Jamla Records as a song by The Roots' MC, and premiered by Ambrosia For Heads, it marked a rarity in the South Philadelphia MC's catalog that has been tied to Roots... Read more

January 27, 2018 News, Video

Vic Mensa Says His Freestyle Has No Shots At Joe Budden. You Be The Judge. (Audio)

Last week, Drake released a two-song project known as Scary Hours that spawned a very exciting week in music. "God's Plan" set a new record for single-day streams. Meanwhile, "Diplomatic Immunity" reignited year-and-a-half old beef with Joe Budden. It's been an especially busy month for Joe, who some past Shady... Read more

January 26, 2018 Audio

Londell McMillan Responds To JAY-Z’s Diss & Strongly Defends His Partnership With Prince (Video)

Following Prince's death on April 21, 2016, there has been a tug of war regarding the icon's music and assets. One month after the tragic news, JAY-Z made that battle both public and part of his own legendary catalog. On the Grammy-nominated 4:44, Shawn Carter took umbrage with the handling... Read more

January 10, 2018 News, Video

JAY-Z, Beyoncé & Blue Ivy Show How When A Family Feuds, Nobody Wins (Video)

JAY-Z's latest 4:44 video is now available for all to view. "Family Feud" is one of the Grammy-nominated album's richest and most significant moments. The single addresses the infidelity that nearly cost the Carters their marriage. The No I.D.-produced song also alludes to the efforts to rebuild the trust, the... Read more

January 5, 2018 Video

Timbaland Describes The Musical Chemistry Between Him & JAY-Z (Video)

Timbaland hopes that 2018 will signal a true comeback season. The four-time Grammy Award-winner recently revealed that he battled a nearly fatal Oxycontin addiction in 2014. Once a mainstay on the singles charts by way of his hit-making productions and collaborations, Tim Mosley had a much quieter 2017. Now the... Read more

January 2, 2018 Video

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2017 (Battle 8): Kendrick Lamar vs. Big Sean

We have our opinions on the best albums of 2017, but rather than simply list them, we thought it would be more interesting to hear what you, the readers, believe is the Best Rap Album of 2017. With that in mind, we decided to make our Best Rap Albums Of... Read more

December 25, 2017 Best Rap Album 2017

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2017 (Battle 7): JAY-Z vs. CyHi The Prynce

We have our opinions on the best albums of 2017, but rather than simply list them, we thought it would be more interesting to hear what you, the readers, believe is the Best Rap Album of 2017. With that in mind, we decided to make our Best Rap Albums Of... Read more

December 24, 2017 Best Rap Album 2017

JAY-Z’s Smile Video Is A Tender Portrait Of His Mother’s Struggle With Her Sexuality

After releasing them exclusively via TIDAL a few weeks ago, today (December 22) JAY-Z makes three more 4:44 visuals widely available-- "Marcy Me," "Legacy," and "Smile." Especially in the case of the last of those three videos, these are as polished and artful as any video companion to music in... Read more

December 22, 2017 Video

Rapsody Takes Her Grammy-Nominated Song Out For A Night On The Town (Video)

Forget the club. In the expertly produced video, for Rapsody’s “Sassy,” the North Carolina MC and company ghost ride a beautifully restored whip to a hopping house party before closing the night at a jam-packed diner. If anyone has the right to celebrate, it’s Rapsody. She’s had a phenomenal year.... Read more

December 19, 2017 Video

J. Cole & Kendrick Lamar Join Jeezy On An All-Star Collabo (Audio)

UPDATE: After video footage previewed a sizable clip of the song, Jeezy's full, official "American Dream" releases. The Pressure single is a pointed collaboration with both J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar. This song may not be as Heads expected on paper. Kendrick Lamar provides some melodic singing near the track's... Read more

December 14, 2017 Audio, Video

After 15 Years Of Disses, JAY-Z & Jaz-O Have Reunited

JAY-Z has reunited with many of the key players from his past—even after bitterness or hostility. In 2005, Jay and Nas famously put beef to bed in New Jersey. The Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder has been photographed with Dame Dash multiple times since the artist and manager parted ways. Beanie Sigel and... Read more

December 5, 2017 Fresh, News

Why Kendrick Lamar & JAY-Z May Destroy Each Others Chances At Winning Album Of The Year

With the 60th Grammy Award nominations being announced this week, and just a little under two months away from crowning the respective victors, the collective post-nomination conversation from those within the music industry and fans alike, has been incredibly rich in both impression and speculation. For the very first time... Read more

December 2, 2017 Food for Thought

JAY-Z Details The Pain & Progress That Came From Making 4:44 & Lemonade (Video)

Published one day after he led the 2018 Grammy nominations with eight, JAY-Z's latest New York Times interview, with Dean Baquet, has been released. The 35-minute video conversation delves heavily into "The Story Of O.J.," one of the individual 4:44 moments for which Jay was nominated. Additionally, the two Black... Read more

November 29, 2017 Fresh

JAY-Z & Kendrick Lamar Dominate 2018 Grammy Nominations

The nominations for the 60th Grammy Awards are in. The event returns to New York City for the first time in 15 years and will broadcast on January 28, 2018. As many Hip-Hop Heads predicted, JAY-Z and Kendrick Lamar receive a plethora of consideration, for 4:44 and DAMN., respectively. Jay,... Read more

November 28, 2017 News

Timbaland Describes His Near Fatal Overdose With Oxycontin

Timbaland has been tied to some of Hip-Hop's most beloved songs. Besides his sprawling solo catalog and work with Magoo, Timothy Mosley has supplied unforgettable sounds for JAY-Z, Missy Elliott, Ludacris, Petey Pablo, and Bubba Sparxxx. The Virginia producer/rapper who now calls Miami, Florida his home is in the midst... Read more

November 27, 2017 News

Vic Mensa’s Latest Performance Makes A Powerful Plea For World Peace (Video)

In between a show in Cleveland and heading onto Quebec as the sole opening act on JAY-Z’s 4:44 Tour, Vic Mensa stopped by the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan for an impassioned performance of "We Could be Free" on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Toting a string quartet, pianist,... Read more

November 21, 2017 Video