Jay Z’s Roc Nation Signs Rapper Rapsody

Jay Z signed a new artist to his Roc Nation roster — Rapsody. The 28-year-old graced the stage at the 2016 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival when she broke the news to a few hundred people.

“I’m Jamla/Roc Nation,” she said.

The official announcement came on Sunday (July 17) when Rapsody posted a photo of herself putting up the famous “Roc” hand symbol.

“Welcome to JamRoc,” read the caption, a play on her original label, Jamla Records, and the Damien Marley song of the same name.

Rapsody, who hails from North Carolina, joined New York’s finest at the annual festival. Nas and Fabolous were also listed as headliners.

It’s still unclear what capacity Rapsody will have with Roc Nation since she’s still heavily claiming Jamla, an independent label headed by the legendary hip-hop producer 9th Wonder. But, it seems that the two will be working together for Rapsody’s next projects.

“To new beginnings,” read a post by 9th. “#WelcometoJamRoc @jamlarecords is the squad….. @rocnation is the family…….”

Rapsody released her debut album, The Idea of Beautiful, in 2012, which was followed up with critically acclaimed mixtapes, She Got Game and Beauty and the Beast. The “Good Good Love” rapper also gained much notoriety after nabbing the only featured rap spot on Kendrick Lamar’s celebrated effort, To Pimp a Butterfly with a verse on “Complexion.” And she wrote it all in one day.

“I called him [Kendrick Lamar] and he told me the song is ‘Complexion.’ That was pretty much it,” said Rapsody in an interview with Complex. “We didn’t talk in-depth about what direction to go in, but he told me complexion. You know, African-American, black people in America. I knew kind of the thought process behind it. I was in D.C. and I wrote that verse that day. 9th drove up, and we went into the studio and recorded it that night.”

Jay Z may be working on other ventures, such as a rumored buyout of his music streaming service, Tidal, by Apple Music or his sports management company, Roc Nation Sports, but his roster is strong. Grammy-nominated rapper J. Cole and Grammy winners Jay Electronica and Rihanna are all listed under his label. With Rapsody’s latest move, she became the only female rapper signed to Roc Nation.

In past interviews, Rapsody has claimed Jay Z to be one of her biggest influences — the other being Lauryn Hill. In an podcast interview with The Come Up Show, she spoke about the influence of Jay Z’s The Black Album on her career.

“I used to ride and listen to it [Jay Z’s The Black Album] every single day, front to back, until I had the whole thing memorized – to the point that every day I’d get in the shower, and I would start with the first song and rap every song from beginning to end,” she said.

As for why she loves the Jigga man?

“Just his ability to be simple, but complex at the same time. We’re talking about the science of rhyme. That’s the beautiful thing with Jay, and I think that’s why he’s been able to be as successful as he is and keep reinventing himself. He’s still complex, and he still knows how to use complex similes and metaphors, but the average person can still get it. It’s not too far over your head. I really appreciate how he did that on this album. The honesty in the music… one of my favourite songs is ‘Moment of Clarity’: ‘Pac died, didn’t cry, didn’t know him that well…’ His cadence and his charisma on a track is bar none. Not too many can do that. That’s what separates him from a lot of people. You have emcees that are lyrical all day, but what separates one from the next as far as who’s better is their charisma sometimes, and how they say what they say. That’s what I love the most about Jay Z and that project.”

In the same interview, Rapsody also spoke about her chance encounter with the business mogul.

“I don’t even remember what I said; I just remember shaking his hand. He says something – I don’t know what it is. I guess he saw that I was f—– up a little bit, because he put his hands on my shoulder and just nodded,” she said. “That was the first time meeting Jay, but after that, I’ve met him three more times. Every time, he’s always the same: humble, cool, real laid-back. I still don’t know if he’s ever heard the music.”

Well, he’s definitely listening to it now.

[Image via Rapsody/Instagram]