Roc Nation

Jay-Z And Will Smith Invest In A Rent-To-Own Housing Startup That Helps Residents Build Credit

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Jay-Z and Will Smith are the unofficial avatars of Black wealth, and with their latest venture, they hope to provide a means for building wealth for more people. Their investment funds, Roc Nation and Dreamers VC respectively, have joined a group of investors raising $165 million in housing startup Landis, which will rent homes to clients until they can afford to buy them.

According to Bloomberg, the company purchases a house, rents it to the client, and then sells it to them at a preset price (including a fee on top of its original value) up within two years from the initial purchase. Landis also provides financial coaching to clients to help them manage their budgets, build credit, and save the down payments they need to purchase their homes. After the first two years, the company may offer more time or sell the property.

The idea is, of course, to make it easier for aspiring homeowners to actually achieve their goal in a housing market that has become increasingly expensive and risky in the years since the Great Recession, which was in part caused by a housing market bubble bursting in the mid-2000s.

Bloomberg reports that the typical Landis client is a first-time buyer with a budget under $400,000. The $165 million investment will allow the company to buy around 1,000 homes with the hopes of following through on 80% of its initial customer base. That would be way more than traditional rent-to-own companies. The company’s founder, Cyril Berdugo, credits the business model, which would see Landis “make money when our client buys the house back.” “If we leave money on the table,” he says, “That’s our problem.”

Among other industries Jay-Z has invested in, the mogul has put money behind Bitcoin, cannabis, and will reportedly begin producing film and television sometime in the future.

Mariah Carey Leaves Roc Nation After Shutting Down Rumors Of A Split With Jay-Z

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Although Mariah Carey denied a report that she’d had an “explosive” falling out with longtime business partner Jay-Z over her Roc Nation management, it appears that she has indeed decided to part ways with Roc Nation. Billboard and Variety report Carey has moved from Roc Nation to Range Media Partners, following her former Roc Nation manager Melissa Ruderman, who switched companies in January.

Ruderman was Carey’s day-to-day manager in 2005 when the star was managed by Benny Medina, handling the rollout for the 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi. At Roc Nation, Ruderman helped put together deals for Carey’s Las Vegas residencies, the publishing contract that led to the bestselling memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, and a TV deal with Apple. Ruderman joined the recently formed Range Media Partners just a few short months after its launch in September last year.

The rumor that Mariah had switched management was first hinted at in a report in British tabloid The Sun, which wrote that a meeting between Carey and Jay-Z “did not go well at all” after the two disagreed on rollout plans for a more R&B-centered album. However, Mariah took the tabloid to task in a tweet recalling the success of Mariah and Jay’s no.1 hit “Heartbreaker.”

“The only ‘explosive’ situation I’d ever ‘get into’ with Hov is a creative tangent, such as our #1 song ‘Heartbreaker!!’” she wrote. “To the people who make up these lies I say ‘Poof! —Vamoose, sonofa*****”!’”

Megan Thee Stallion Will Lecture At Long Island University And Pay One Student’s Tuition In Full

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After taking a bit of time off, Megan Thee Stallion is back from her brief hiatus. She’s dropping “Thot Sh*t” this week, and soon, she’ll be back in the classroom: In partnership with the Roc Nation School Of Music, Sports, And Entertainment at Long Island University, she will be offering a full-tuition, four-year scholarship to one lucky student. The deadline to apply for the scholarship is July 15 and interested students can apply here.

Additionally, Megan will participate in Long Island University’s “Industry Expert Speaker Series,” where she will “delve deeper into her industry expertise” for Roc Nation School Of Music, Sports, And Entertainment students.

Meg says in a statement, “Getting an education is incredibly important to me. I still have academic goals that I want to achieve, so if I can use my resources to open doors and create opportunities for at least one student, then it’s a victory. It’s important that we encourage our students to pursue their passions and put them in positions to become the next game changer in whichever fields they choose.”

Megan is truly dedicated to academics: Alongside her mega-successful music career, she is also currently studying Health Care Administration at Texas Southern University.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Mariah Carey Quotes Jay-Z To Shut Down Rumors That She Split With Roc Nation

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Over the weekend, a report from British tabloid The Sun sparked rumors that Mariah Carey had split with Jay-Z‘s Roc Nation management after an “explosive meeting which did not go well at all.” The Sun reported that a source said that Carey is working on a new album and was seeking other management. However, Mariah herself shut down the rumor on Twitter this morning, quoting her longtime business partner Jay-Z and sharing a clip from their 1999 collaboration “Heartbreaker” to remind followers just how deep the roots of their partnership run.

“The only ‘explosive’ situation I’d ever ‘get into’ with Hov is a creative tangent, such as our #1 song ‘Heartbreaker!!’” she wrote. “To the people who make up these lies I say ‘Poof! —Vamoose, sonofa*****”!’” The final quote of her missive comes, of course, from Jay-Z’s 2001 Blueprint single “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” on which Jay addressed naysayers and detractors: “He who does not feel me / Is not real to me, therefore he doesn’t exist / So poof – vamoose, son of a b*tch!”

Clearly, Mariah Carey has similar feelings toward The Sun and its unnamed source. It wasn’t the first time the longstanding pop-R&B icon used her social platforms to clear up misunderstandings. In May, she jokingly teased a Baltimore rapper who sampled her 2005 hit “Shake It Off,” but eventually revealed she had allowed the use of the sample after Questlove got in touch. Meanwhile, Jay-Z is said to be expanding Roc Nation’s already extensive list of services to include television and film production sometime in near future.

Jay-Z’s Made In America Festival Announces Its Return For A 10th Anniversary Event

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Made In America, the music festival created by Jay-Z and Roc Nation, is returning in 2021 for a 10th-anniversary event this Labor Day weekend, September 4 and 5. The festival is returning to its usual venue at Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with a portion of proceeds going to support the ACLU of Pennsylvania and The REFORM Alliance.

In a statement, Jay-Z said, “We are thrilled to announce Made in America 2021 on the legendary Benjamin Franklin Parkway. This year will be like no other, as Made In America celebrates 10 years of music history-making moments. The artists’ performances will be even bigger and Cause Village will host a wider range of amazing philanthropic organizations. We look forward to sharing incredible memories with our festival attendees and the city of Philadelphia.”

While the lineup for the 2021 event hasn’t yet been announced, previous iterations have been played by such names as Cardi B, Juice WRLD, Lil Uzi Vert, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, Post Malone, and Ty Dolla Sign. The 2020 festival, canceled due to last year’s shutdown, hadn’t yet announced its lineup at the time of cancelation. Other festivals scheduled to come back this year include Governor’s Ball, headlined by Billie Eilish and Post Malone, and Lollapalooza, with Foo Fighters, Post Malone, and Tyler The Creator.

For more information, visit www.madeinamericafest.com.

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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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.