Roc Boys: A Guide to Rappers Signed By Jay-Z
A diamond-studded history of the Roc.
1 / 10
Memphis Bleek\r - Memph has been throwing that diamond sign up for longer than anyone save Jay. He debuted via a classic back-and-forth with Hov on "Coming of Age," off Jay's first album, Reasonable Doubt, and also spits bars on classics like "You, Me, Him & Her" and "Is That Yo Chick?" His first two albums reached gold status, but Bleek was never really been seen as much more than Jay's sidekick. He left Jay's fold during the transition from Roc-A-Fella to Roc Nation in 2009 to start his own label, Get Low Records, and is working on a new album, The Process.\r\r(Photo: Peter Kramer/Getty Images)
2 / 10
Beanie Sigel\r - Beans kicked down the door on his Roc debut with a ferocious guest verse on Jay-Z's 1998 "Reservoir Dogs." His first three albums, The Truth, The Reason and The B. Coming, are definitely some of the strongest non-Jay Roc releases. However, a combination of legal troubles and tension with Jay has slowed the Broad Street Bully's career way down. Beans bounced from the Roc officially in 2009 and, soon after, released the Hov-dissing "I Go Off," featuring 50 Cent. Beanie is now signed to Fif's G-Unit Philly subsidiary and released the single "B-Boy Stance" this past July.\r\r(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
3 / 10
Cam'ron\r - After showing potential on his first two albums with Sony/Epic, Cam demanded a release from the label and signed with Roc-A-Fella in 2001, partly out of loyalty to Damon Dash, a long-time friend. Cam hit his peak with the Roc commercially on Come Home With Me, and musically on Purple Haze. However, in light of tension between Jay and Dam and lower-than-hoped sales, Cam bounced from the label in 2005. Cam later released several diss tracks aimed at Jay. \r\r(Photo: Adrian Sidney/PictureGroup)
4 / 10
The Diplomats\r - After Cam's success with Roc-A-Fella, he brought over his crew, the Diplomats. They dropped their gold debut, Diplomatic Immunity, and Juelz Santana's From Me 2 U before tensions with Jay, as well as loyalty to departing label co-founder, Damon Dash, prompted them to turn in their Roc chains.\r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)
5 / 10
Freeway\r - Freeway debuted with an extended, amped-up verse on Jay's 2000 "1-900-Hustler" alongside his homie, Beanie Sigel. His first album, Philadelphia Freeway, attained gold status and featured the seminal Roc posse cut, "What We Do." Freeway parted ways with Hov in 2009, but claimed that he would be "Roc-A-Fella for life." He's been one of the most active ex-Roc Boys, dropping albums on Rhymesayers Entertainment and inking a short-lived deal with Cash Money. He's currently working on his next release via 50's imprint, G-Unit Philly.\r\r\r(Photo: Terrence Jennings/PictureGroup)
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6 / 10
Kanye West\r - Hov gave Ye his big break when he tapped him to produce his 2000 track, "This Can't Be Life," and Beanie's "The Truth." Yeezy then crafted the lion's share of Hov's seminal The Blueprint. Still, Jay allegedly fronted on the producer-MC's mic skills at first, holding off on signing him to the Roc until letting him spit his debut verse on 2002's "The Bounce." Good thing he changed his mind — Ye has become the Roc's most successful artists after Jay. Each of his five albums — all released under the Roc-A-Fella brand — have gone platinum, and the last four debuted at No. 1. This year West and Hov joined forces to top the charts yet again with Watch the Throne.\r\r(Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
7 / 10
Jadakiss\r - Kiss set aside years of outright beef with Beanie Sigel and veiled on-wax shots from Jay to ink a deal with the Roc in 2007. The partnership only produced one album, 2009's The Last Kiss, and in 2010 Kiss bounced from the house that Jay built to reunite with the Ruff Ryders. Jada recently appeared on Lil Wayne's Hov-dissing "It's Good," but insists that he isn't taking sides in the beef.\r\r\r(Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
8 / 10
Tru Life\r - Lower East Side spitter Tru Life signed to Jay's Roc La Familia after wowing him during a 10-minute audition. Tru made major noise via mixtapes and his beefs with Mobb Deep and Dipset, but Roc La Familia folded before he dropped an official album. Tru is currently serving an eight-year sentence for gang assault after a fatal 2009 stabbing.\r\r(Photo: Walik Goshorn/Retna)
9 / 10
Jay Electronica\r - Enigmatic Nawlins rapper Jay Electronica signed with Roc Nation in late 2010, after numerous online leaks and his seminal 2009 single "Exhibit C" made him one of the most talked about MCs in the game. Elec linked with his new boss on-wax soon after on the funky "Shiny Suit Theory." Unfortunately, the world's still waiting for Mr. Badu's much-hyped debut album, Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn).\r\r(Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)