''Blakroc'' (stylized as ''BlakRoc'') is a studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their ...

, in collaboration with

Damon Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke. Early life Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barbe ...

, co-founder and former co-owner of

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

, who oversaw the project. The album features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from several hip hop and R&B acts, namely

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

Nicole Wray Nicole Monique Wray (born May 2, 1979), also known as Lady Wray, is an American singer and songwriter. Her 1998 debut single "Make It Hot" was certified gold. Early life Nicole Monique Wray was born on May 2, 1979, in Salinas, California, to ...

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper from South Jamaica, Queens, New York. He is known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhy ...

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

, Billy Danze of M.O.P., Q-Tip of

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide", ...

and NOE of

ByrdGang Joseph Guillermo Jones II (born July 15, 1976), better known by his stage name Jim Jones (formerly Jimmy Jones), is an American rapper, music video director, and record executive. He is an original member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats ...

, as well as

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...

, RZA and

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), better known by his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap group primarily fr ...

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

Recording and production

After Damon Dash began listening to Ohio-based rock duo

, which he says quickly became his favorite band, he reached out to the musicians to meet in person. Dash suggested they enter the studio with his friend and associate,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based rapper

, with whom Dash had recently partnered to form Splash Records at the time. While recording with co-producer and engineer

Joel Hamilton Joel Hamilton (born 1980) is an American Brooklyn-based record producer, audio engineer and musician. Hamilton performs as a musician for the band Book of Knots. He is also a producer and engineer at Studio G in Brooklyn, New York. In the summer ...

at Studio G, Brooklyn rapper

interrupted the session and ended up recording with them as well. With new artists being called in to work on the album, it was completed after eleven weeks of recording. Included in the project are vocals from deceased rapper and former

artist

, tapes which were signed over to his brief Roc4Life venture under

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

, with the intention of an eventual album release. In order to release ''Blakroc'', Dash founded an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

in conjunction with the band.

Release and promotion

Damon Dash, co-founder of the project has endorsed ''BlakRoc Camaros'', limited edition Chevrolet Camaro automobiles to promote the album and brand. The Black Keys have stated they did not take part in the promotion.

Reception

The album was generally received well by critics. The album reached Number 1 and Number 7 on the US Billboard Heatseakers chart and US Billboard Top Rap Albums respectively. Nick Neyland of BBC music stated in his review "this is a surprisingly compelling and welcome rejoining of the rap and rock worlds that successfully captures the off-the-cuff nature of the recording sessions."

''Blakroc 2''

In early September 2011, a trailer surfaced for ''Blakroc 2''. Later that month in an interview with Atlanta radio station 92.9 Dave FM, Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney said, "''Blakroc 2'' is not coming out soon... there are no plans for that." Carney said that the trailer is actually an unauthorized video that was pieced together around 2013. They recorded "about eight songs" at the time, but the album was never completed. A publicist has confirmed that there is no release date set for ''Blakroc 2''. The trailer was posted on the YouTube channel of Damon Dash's DD172 media collective.

Track listing

"Coochie" song does not appear on versions of the album released through several digital providers.

Chart positions

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Keys, The 2009 albums The Black Keys albums Collaborative albums Rap rock albums by American artists