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 duo is composed of brothers Theron "Uptown AP" Thomas and Timothy "A.I." Thomas. Primarily known as a

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

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 '' Bi ...

'', 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 Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P) ...

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 Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

. 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 Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American record producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in the late-night television sketch comedy ...

Kemosabe Records Kemosabe Records is an American record label founded by American record producer and songwriter Dr. Luke and owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The label is based in Los Angeles, California. History In November 2011, Sony Music Entertainment ann ...

, under the aegis of

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. 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 Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

We Can't Stop "We Can't Stop" is a song by American singer Miley Cyrus, from her fourth studio album ''Bangerz'' (2013). It was released on June 3, 2013, by RCA Records as the lead single from the album. The song was written and produced by Mike Will Made ...

"),

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

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 "Pour It Up" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her seventh studio album, ''Unapologetic'' (2012). It was serviced to urban radio stations in the United States on January 8, 2013, as the second US single, and third overall single from the ...

"). 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 ''Unapologetic'' is the seventh studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on 19 November 2012 by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It was recorded between June and November 2012, during promotion of her sixth studio album, ' ...

'' (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 The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...

), 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 The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several ...

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 Charlotte Amalie High School (CAHS) is a public high school housing a population of just over 1400 students, and over 130 members of faculty and staff. It is located in what is colloquially called the "town area" of the island of St. Thomas, Uni ...

. 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 Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. They initially performed under the name 2Ekwip. They had limited success on the Miami nightlife scene. During this time, Theron worked for

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincin ...

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

's triple platinum-selling album ''

Konvicted ''Konvicted'' is the second studio album by American singer Akon. It was released on November 14, 2006. The album features collaborations with rappers Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Styles P and T-Pain. Background ''Konvicted'' is Akon's most successful ...

''. 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 ...

Ashlee Simpson Ashley Nicolle Ross ( Simpson; born October 3, 1984), known professionally as Ashlee Simpson, is an American singer and actress. The younger sister of singer and actress Jessica Simpson, she began her career as a back-up dancer for her sister ...

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...

, 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 The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe ...

(number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100), and "Replay" by

Iyaz Keidran Jones (born 15 April 1987), better known by his stage name Iyaz, is a British Virgin Islands singer and songwriter, formerly signed with the record label Beluga Heights Records. He is known for his singles " Replay", "Solo" and " Pretty ...

(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

and Akon's

, 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 Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...

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 Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

's "Run Away Love." In 2013, the duo wrote numerous ''Billboard'' Hot 100 songs, including Miley Cyrus' "

", Rihanna's "

", and

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

'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 Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea (), is an Australian rapper. At the age of 16, Azalea moved from Australia to the United States in order to pursue a career in music. Azalea earned public recognitio ...

's ''

The New Classic ''The New Classic'' is the debut studio album by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. It was released on 21 April 2014 by Def Jam Recordings. Primarily a hip hop album, ''The New Classic'' features elements of EDM, dance-pop and trap in its producti ...

'' (nominated for

Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...

''What Dreams Are Made Of'' (2014–present)

In 2014, the duo signed with

and

. Their debut studio album, ''

'', 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

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