Roc Nation

9th Wonder Will Teach Music History At The Roc Nation School Of Music, Sports & Entertainment

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Last August, Roc Nation announced the launch of its School Of Music, Sports & Entertainment in partnership with Long Island University. Today, Roc Nation made another big announcement regarding the school: The appointment of producer 9th Wonder to the school’s faculty as a visiting professor and artist in residence teaching music history for the upcoming fall 2021 semester.

9th, who has previously taught at Duke University and Harvard, has plenty of experience as a lecturer already, making him perfectly suited to teach at the Roc Nation school, which aims to “prepare students for a wide range of careers in performance, entrepreneurship, all aspects of music, and sports business management.” 9th will also teach classes on the making of an album, a subject with which he’s garnered extensive experience as the main producer for Little Brother‘s first two albums, as well as projects from Drake, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, and his Jamla Records proteges like GQ and Rapsody.

In a press release, 9th said of the appointment, “Music changed my life and opened doors for me in ways that I never could have imagined, so it’s only right that we impart our knowledge to help the next generation of ambitious leaders. I’m truly honored to teach at the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment and look forward to equipping these students with the tools to break barriers in their own lives and careers.”

Roc Nation Is Preparing To Release A Line Of Greeting Cards With American Greetings

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Roc Nation

Over the years, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation has branched out into a number of industries outside the expected range of an ostensible rap label. There’s a school of entertainment management, book publishing arm, and a social justice initiative already, but Roc Nation isn’t stopping there. The latest move is a bit of a surprising one; Roc Nation announced today that it is partnering with American Greetings to release its own line of greeting cards.

The line will include traditional paper cards and digital e-cards featuring personalized messages and custom lyrics from artists like Dolly Parton, Donny Osmond, Michael Bolton, Shaq, and Smokey Robinson. It will also include “SmashUps,” although details on what those entail are scant for the moment.

Roc Nation president of business operations Brett Yormark told Billboard about the collaboration, explaining, “When we were introduced to the leaders at American Greetings and began discussing the idea of customized greetings, both on behalf of Roc Nation and its artists, we felt like it was a natural fit. It is an unexpected category that in many respects, given the breadth and depth of our talent, gave us a [different] way to reach new audiences.”

The partnership will begin with digital cards and eventually expand into physical cards in stores.