R. City (short for Rock City; and formerly Planet VI) is a Virgin Islands musical duo formed in 2003, from
Saint Thomas,
U.S. Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
. The duo is composed of brothers Theron "Uptown AP" Thomas and Timothy "A.I." Thomas. Primarily known as a
songwriting and
record production
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
team, the duo has also released various bodies of work as recording artists, including their debut album, ''
What Dreams Are Made Of
''What Dreams Are Made Of'' is the debut album by production duo Rock City. It was released on October 9, 2015. The album includes "Locked Away", which features Maroon 5 lead vocalist Adam Levine. The single peaked at number one on the ''Billbo ...
'', released in November 2015. They are best known for the single "
Locked Away
"Locked Away" is a song by Virgin Islands production duo R. City featuring American singer Adam Levine, the lead singer of pop rock band Maroon 5. The song was released on June 29, 2015, by Kemosabe Records and RCA Records. The song peaked at n ...
" featuring American singer
Adam Levine
Adam Noah Levine (; born March 18, 1979) is an American singer and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which ...
.
In 2007, the duo signed with American singer
Akon's
KonLive Distribution
KonLive Distribution (or simply KonLive) was a record label founded by R&B singer Akon. The label served as a joint-venture deal between Jimmy Iovine and Interscope Records. Notable artists briefly signed to the label include Lady Gaga, Kardinal ...
, under the aegis of
Geffen Records. During their time there, they released a series of
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
s with the primary title, ''PTFAO'' (''Put the F*ckin' Album Out''), a reference to the fact that their then-debut album ''Wake the Neighbors'' had not been given a release date. In 2011, the duo were released from their contract with KonLive and subsequently founded their own label imprint, Rebelution Records. In 2014, they signed a record deal with American music producer
Dr. Luke's
Kemosabe Records, under the aegis of
RCA Records.
The Thomas brothers have written and produced for several prominent artists in the music industry, including
Sean Kingston
Kisean Paul Anderson (born February 3, 1990), better known by his stage name Sean Kingston, is an American-Jamaican singer and rapper. He is known for his hit songs " Beautiful Girls", "Fire Burning", " Take You There", and his collaboration wit ...
("
Take You There"),
Miley Cyrus ("
We Can't Stop"),
Nicki Minaj ("
Only
Only may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Only'' (album), by Tommy Emmanuel, 2000
* ''The Only'', an EP by Dua Lipa, 2017
Songs
* "Only" (Anthrax song), 1993
* "Only" (Nine Inch Nails song), 2005
* "Only" (Nicki Minaj song), 2014
* "The Only", by ...
") and
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
("
Pour It Up"). The duo has also contributed to numerous
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
-nominated albums, including Rihanna's ''
Unapologetic'' (which won
Best Urban Contemporary Album
The Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for quality works on albums in the urban contemporary subgenre within the R&B field. Honors in several categories are presented at t ...
), Jennifer Hudson's
self-titled album (which won
Best R&B Album), and
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
's ''
My Everything'' (which was nominated for
Best Pop Vocal Album).
History
Early life and education
Theron and Timothy Thomas are natives of Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. They grew up in the Oswald Harris Court Projects
and graduated from
Charlotte Amalie High School.
As children, the brothers were backup dancers for a local all-girl rap group. They frequently practiced various genres of music and received support from their parents.
In 2000, the two left the Virgin Islands to pursue their music career in
Miami.
They initially performed under the name 2Ekwip.
They had limited success on the Miami nightlife scene. During this time, Theron worked for
Kroger and Timothy for
Party City
Party City Holdco Inc. is an American publicly traded retail chain of party stores founded in 1986 by Steve Mandell in East Hanover, New Jersey. Party City’s parent organization is Party City Holdings Inc. Based in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, the compa ...
.
They moved back to St. Thomas in 2005.
Career beginnings and record deal (2006–09)
In 2006, the duo sold their first song, "The Rain," which appeared on American singer-songwriter
Akon's triple platinum-selling album ''
Konvicted''.
By October 2007, Rock City had written songs for performers including
Usher
Usher may refer to:
Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place:
* Usher (occupation)
** Church usher
** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony
** Fiel ...
,
Sean Kingston
Kisean Paul Anderson (born February 3, 1990), better known by his stage name Sean Kingston, is an American-Jamaican singer and rapper. He is known for his hit songs " Beautiful Girls", "Fire Burning", " Take You There", and his collaboration wit ...
,
Ashlee Simpson,
Nicole Scherzinger, and
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...
.
Early songs that saw chart success included
"Take You There" by Sean Kingston (number 7 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100),
"When I Grow Up" by
The Pussycat Dolls (number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100), and
"Replay" by
Iyaz (number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100).
Rock City signed a
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with
Geffen Records and Akon's
KonLive Distribution
KonLive Distribution (or simply KonLive) was a record label founded by R&B singer Akon. The label served as a joint-venture deal between Jimmy Iovine and Interscope Records. Notable artists briefly signed to the label include Lady Gaga, Kardinal ...
, in 2007. During this time, Theron was known by the stage name "Da Spokesman" and Timothy was known as "Don't Talk Much." They were set to release their debut album, ''Wake the Neighbors'', some time in 2008,
Label issues, Wake the Neighbors and Planet VI era (2008–13)
Rock City created 15
self-released mixtapes between 2008 and 2012, many of which contained the acronym "''PTFAO''" (or ''Put the F*ckin' Album Out'') in reference to the fact that the label had not given them a release date for their album. In 2011, the duo parted ways with KonLive and founded their own label imprint called Rebelution Records. They intended to release their debut album, ''Free At Last'', on their own label,
but the release date was later pushed back to 2009.
Despite the tumult with their record labels, Rock City continued writing songs for other artists during this period. They penned Rihanna's "
Man Down" and
Justin Bieber's "Run Away Love."
In 2013, the duo wrote numerous ''Billboard'' Hot 100 songs, including Miley Cyrus' "
We Can't Stop", Rihanna's "
Pour It Up", and
Ciara's "
I'm Out
"I'm Out" is a song recorded by American recording artist Ciara, for her eponymously titled Ciara (album), fifth studio album (2013), featuring guest vocals from Trinidadian-American rapper Nicki Minaj. It was written by Ciara, Minaj and Planet ...
."
"Pour It Up" appeared on Rihanna's album ''Unapologetic'', which won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the
2014 Grammy Awards
The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid compe ...
.
The following year, Rock City contributed to three separate albums that received Grammy nominations — Miley Cyrus' ''
Bangerz
''Bangerz'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Miley Cyrus. It was released on September 30, 2013, by RCA Records. It is her first studio album since 2010's ''Can't Be Tamed''. Opting to re-establish her musical career instead of f ...
'', Ariana Grande's ''My Everything'' (both were nominated in the Best Pop Vocal Album category) and
Iggy Azalea's ''
The New Classic'' (nominated for
Best Rap Album).
''What Dreams Are Made Of'' (2014–present)
In 2014, the duo signed with
RCA Records and
Dr. Luke's
Kemosabe Records.
Their debut studio album, ''
What Dreams Are Made Of
''What Dreams Are Made Of'' is the debut album by production duo Rock City. It was released on October 9, 2015. The album includes "Locked Away", which features Maroon 5 lead vocalist Adam Levine. The single peaked at number one on the ''Billbo ...
'', contains themes of struggle relating to the brothers' often difficult upbringing in Saint Thomas. In 2015, they released singles titled "I'm That..." featuring
2 Chainz
Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, al ...
and "Locked Away" featuring
Adam Levine
Adam Noah Levine (; born March 18, 1979) is an American singer and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which ...
.
Discography
The discography of Rock City contains numerous singles, mixtapes, and one album. The group has released one album in Japan (''Songs That We Wrote'') and has also released numerous mixtapes and singles.
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
United States Virgin Islands culture
American contemporary R&B musical groups
Sibling musical duos
Family musical groups
American musical duos
Alternative hip hop groups
American hip hop groups
Record production duos
American songwriting teams
Hip hop duos
American pop music groups
American hip hop singers
Reggae fusion groups
21st-century American musicians
People from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands musicians
Musical groups established in 2003
2003 establishments in the United States Virgin Islands